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UNIVERSITY  Oh  CALII-ORNIA    SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822  00542  4221 


Central  University  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Please  Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall 
after  two  weeks. 


NOV  281991 


Date  Due 


UCSDLib. 


THE  HISTORY  OF 
BROWN  UNIVERSITY 


THE  HISTORY  OF 
BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

1  764- 1.9 14 
BY 

WALTER  C.  BRONSON,  Lut.D. 

// 

PROFESSOR  OF  b^NGUSH  UTERATURE 


PROVIDENCE 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY 
1914 


COPYRIGHT,   1914,  BY  BROWN   UNIVERSITY 


D.  B.  UPDIKE,  THE  MERRYMOUNT  PRESS,  BOSTON 


PREFACE 

THIS  history  of  Brown  University  is  intended 
chiefly  for  its  graduates,  and  some  of  the  con- 
tents will  have  little  interest  for  other  readers.  The 
effort  has  been  to  portray  the  university  in  all  its 
aspects  —  not  merely  as  a  gallery  of  academic  w^or- 
thies,  or  an  educational  experiment  station,  or  a  stage 
where  men  now  grave  and  reverend  disported  them- 
selves in  thoughtless  youth,  or  an  athletic  and  social 
club,  but  as  all  these  and  more.  Even  to  graduates, 
therefore,  some  parts  of  the  narrative  will  appeal  less 
strongly  than  others ;  but  it  seemed  more  essential  to 
give  a  just  account  of  the  university  as  a  whole  than 
to  rivet  the  attention  of  every  reader  on  every  page. 

The  book  is  based  almost  entirely  on  original 
sources,  a  list  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 
In  quotations  from  these  the  spelling,  capitalization, 
punctuation,  etc., have  been  reproduced  as  accurately 
as  possible:  this  method  helps  the  reader  to  get  the 
flavor  of  times  past,  and  is  peculiarly  worth  while 
in  the  history  of  an  educational  institution  because  it 
illustrates  the  use  of  English  by  Corporation,  Fac- 
ulty, and  students. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  record  my  thanks  for  aid  re- 
ceived from  graduates  and  friends  of  the  university. 
Professor  William  MacDonald,the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry 
M.  King,  and  Professor  Walter  G.  Everett,  of  the 
Committee  on  the  Academic  Celebration,  read  the 
manuscript  and  made  helpful  criticisms.  Mr.  Corne- 

C    V    ] 


PREFACE 

liusS.Sweetland,treasurerof  Brown  University, gave 
certain  information  in  advance  of  the  publication  of 
his  report  for  the  last  fiscal  year.  Professor  Harry  L. 
Koopman,  librarian  of  the  university, Mr.  George  P. 
Winship, librarian  of  the  John  Carter  Brown  Library, 
Mr.  Frederick  T.  Guild,  university  registrar,  Mrs. 
Louise  P.  Bates,  university  archivist,  and  Mr.  How- 
ard M.  Chapin,  librarian  of  the  Rhode  Island  His- 
torical Society,  afforded  every  facility  for  consulting 
the  documents  in  their  keeping.  The  librarians  of  the 
Rhode  Island  State  Library,  the  Newport  Historical 
Society,Princeton  University,  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania ,  the  College  of  Charleston ,  and  Crozer  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  the  secretaries  of  the  Corporations 
of  Princeton  University  and  Columbia  University, 
and  Professor  Weldon  T.  Myers,  of  the  University 
of  Virginia,  rendered  aid  in  various  ways.  The  Rev. 
Arthur  W.  Smith,  until  recently  librarian  of  the  New 
England  Baptist  Library  in  Boston,  generously  put 
at  my  disposal  the  results  of  his  own  researches  into 
the  early  history  of  the  university.  Mr.  Franklin  B. 
Dexter,  librarian  of  Yale  University,  furnished  a 
transcript  of  the  letter  printed  on  page  14,  which 
settles  a  long  disputed  question  about  Ezra  Stiles's 
plan  for  a  college  in  Rhode  Island.  Mrs.  Sarah  K. 
Birckhead,  of  New  York,  contributed  a  transcript  of 
the  important  letter  printed  on  page  23.  Mr.  Theo- 
dore F.  Green ,  of  Providence,  allowed  me  to  examine 
his  large  collection  of  leaflets,  pamphlets,  and  books 
connected  with  the  history  of  the  university.  Mr. 

c  vi : 


PREFACE 

Henry  R.  Chace,  of  Providence,  presented  a  set  of 
his  maps  of  Providence  in  1770.  Mr.  George  Hen- 
derson, of  Philadelphia,  gave  me  the  use  of  unpub- 
lished letters  by  President  Manning  and  Morgan 
Edwards  to  his  ancestor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Jones. 
Mr.  H.  T.  Cook,  of  Greenville,  South  Carolina,  sent 
copies  of  letters  by  Presidents  Manning  and  Maxcy 
to  Southern  clergymen.  The  late  Rev.  James  C.  Sea- 
grave,  '45,  the  Rev.  Henry  I.  Coe,  '46',  President  James 

B.  Angell,  '49,Mr.  Alexander  J.  Robert,  '49,  the  Hon. 
Richard  Olney,  '56,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  S.  Bur- 
rage,  '61 ,  supplied  reminiscences  of  their  undergrad- 
uate days.  Several  of  my  colleagues  on  the  Faculty 
aided  me:  Professors  John  H.  Appleton  and  William 

C.  Poland,  by  their  intimate  knowledge  of  the  uni- 
versity through  many  years;  Professors  Nathaniel 
F.  Davis,  Albert  G.  Harkness,  Walter  G.  Everett, 
Francis  G.  Allinson,  and  Raymond  C.  Archibald,  by 
statements  relating  to  the  history  of  their  depart- 
ments; Professor  Edmund  B.  Delabarre,  by  informa- 
tion about  the  history  of  athletics  at  Brown ;  and  Pro- 
fessor Albert  K.  Potter,  by  suggestions  about  matter 
and  style.  The  editors  of  Memories  of  Broivn  and  The 
Brown  Alumni  Monthly  freely  opened  their  pages 
for  pillage.  My  greatest  obligation  is  to  my  wife,  who 
revised  the  whole  manuscript  with  minutest  care, 
prepared  the  copy  for  the  printer,  gave  invaluable 
aid  in  proof-reading,  and  made  the  index. 

W.C.B. 

Cuttyhu?ik,  Massachusetts 
September  J2,  IQI4 


772?*  volume  has  been  ivntten  to  commemorate  the  cele- 
bration of  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  Brown  Univerdty^  and  is  published  under 
the  general  supervision  of  the  Committee  in  charge  of  the 
Celebration.  The  Committee^  however.,  assume  no  respon- 
sibility for  the  statements  of  the  text.  The  author  is  alone 
responsible  both  for  facts  and  for  expressions  of  opinion 


CONTENTS 

PREFACE  v-vii 

I.  THE  FOUNDING  1-33 
Tlie  Baptists  and  tlie  College  :  Rhode  Island  and  the  College  :  the  Struggle 
o\er  tlie  Chai'ter  :  Comparison  with  other  College  Chai'ters 

II.  PRESIDENT  MANNINCi'S  ADMINISTRATION  34-75 
Early  Years  at  Warren  :  the  First  Commencement :  Removal  to  Pro\  idence  : 
the  College  and  the  Revolution 

III.  PRESIDENT  MANNING'S  ADMINISTRATION 

[Continued]  76-129 

Financial  Difficulties  after  the  Re\olution  :  Growth  of  the  College  :  Com- 
mencements :  Personality  and  Work  of  Manning  :  Curriculum  :  Scholarship 
and  Success  of  the  Early  Graduates 

IV.  PRESIDENT  MAXCY'S  ADMINISTRATION  130-154 
Oi'atory  under  Maxcy  :  Commencements  :  Growth  of  the  College  :  Under- 
graduate Life 

V.  PRESIDENT  MESSER'S  ADMINISTRATION  155-203 
Rhode  Island  College  becomes  Brown  University  :  the  Medical  School  :  Hope 
College  :  Disorders  in  Later  Years  :  tlie  President's  Theological  Views  and 
his  Resignation 

VI.  PRESIDENT  WAYLAND'S  ADMINISTRATION  204-257 
Personality  and  Metliods  of  the  New  President  :  End  of  the  Medical  School  : 
Changes  in  the  Curriculum  :  the  Library  Fund  :  New  Buildings  :  Student 
Life  :  the  Dorr  W'ar 

VII.  PRESIDENT  WAYLAND'S  ADMINISTRATION 

[Continued]  258-316 

The  New  System  :  Its  Relations  to  Har\ard  University  and  the  University  of 
Virginia  :  Its  Results  :  President  Wayland's  Last  Years 

VIII.  PRESIDENT  SEARS'S  ADMINISTRATION  317-365 
Modification  of  the  New  System  :  Scholarships  and  New  Endowment  :  So- 
cial Life  and  Athletics  :  the  Civil  War 

IX.  PRESIDENT  CASWELL'S  ADMINISTRATION  366-385 
Professor  Chace  as  Temporary  President  :  Increase  in  Endowment  :  Alumni 
Associations  :  Social  Life  of  the  LTndergraduates  :  Basel)all  and  Boating 


CONTENTS 

X.  PRESIDENT  ROBINSON'S  ADMINISTRATION  386-426 
New  Buildings  :  Growth  of  the  Funds  :  Enlargement  of  the  Elective  Sys- 
tem :  Graduate  Study  :  tlie  Problem  of  Athletics  :  the  President  as  Discipli- 
narian iuid  Teacher 

XI.  PRESIDENT  ANDREWS'S  ADMINISTRATION  427-468 
Personality  of  the  Pi-esident  :  Phenomenal  Growth  in  Attendance,  Faculty, 
and  Curriculum  :  the  Women's  College  :  Lack  of  Funds  :  the  President's 
Resignation 

XII.  PRESIDENT  FAUNCE'S  ADMINISTRATION  469-489 
Increase  of  Endowment  :  New  Buildings  :  Modifications  of  the  Curriculum  : 
Cooperation  with  the  Community  and  the  Alumni  :  Undergraduate  Life  : 
the  Women's  College  :  Conclusion 

APPENDIX 

A.  Tlie  Charter  493-507 

B.  Early  Laws  of  the  CoUege  508-519 

C.  Tlie  CoUege  Seals  520-521 

D.  Bibliography  522-534 

INDEX  537-548 


THE  HISTORY  OF 
BROWN  UNIVERSITY 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  FOUNDING 

THE  BAPTISTS   AND  THE  COLLEGE  :  RHODE  ISLAND  AND  THE 

COLLEGE  :  THE  STRUGGLE  OVER  THE  CHARTER  :  COMPARISON 

WITH   OTHER  COLLEGE  CHARTERS 

ONE  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  Brown  University  was 
founded  by  the  Baptists  of  America,  in  the  colony  of 
Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations.  For  a  century 
and  a  half,  while  political,  economic,  and  social  conditions 
in  the  New  World  have  undergone  many  and  sometimes 
turbulent  changes,  it  has  continued  its  quiet  work  of  edu- 
cating American  youth  for  private  and  public  life.  The 
university  has  grown  with  the  growth  of  the  country.  The 
numbers  of  its  Faculty  and  students  have  greatly  increased, 
its  buildings  and  all  its  material  resources  have  multiplied, 
its  courses  of  study  have  widened  and  deepened,  its  meth- 
ods have  changed  with  changing  conditions;  but  through 
all  it  has  in  the  main  held  fast  to  the  ideal  expressed  in  these 
words  of  its  charter  :  "Institutions  for  liberal  Education  are 
highly  beneficial  to  Society,  by  forming  the  rising  Gener- 
ation to  Virtue  Knowledge  &  useful  Literature  &.  thus  pre- 
serving in  the  Community  a  Succession  of  Men  duly  qual- 
ify'd  for  discharging  the  Offices  of  Life  with  usefulness 
&  reputation.  .  .  .  Into  this  Liberal  &  Catholic  Institution 
shall  never  be  admitted  any  Religious  Tests  but  on  the  Con- 
trary all  the  Members  hereof  shall  for  ever  enjoy  full  free 
Absolute  and  uninterrupted  Liberty  of  Conscience." 

As  a  result  of  faithful  work  done  in  this  spirit.  Brown 
University,  like  its  sister  institutions,  has  from  the  first  been 
a  powerful  influence  for  good  in  church  and  state  and  home, 
both  in  its  own  community  and  in  distant  parts.  It  has 

c  1  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

supplied  the  denomination  which  founded  it  with  leaders ; 
it  has  sent  missionaries  to  the  far  East  and  the  far  West ;  it 
has  given  to  the  nation  and  the  world  jurists,  statesmen, 
and  diplomats;  it  has  graduated  a  few  men  to  win  fame 
in  literature  and  art,  and  many  to  become  eminent  in  edu- 
cation, theology,  medicine,  law,  and  business ;  and  it  has 
enriched  the  private  lives  of  thousands  who  in  turn  have 
been  centers  of  higher  life  for  thousands  more. 

The  history  of  such  an  institution  is  inspiring,  but  it  is 
for  the  most  part  unpretentious,  addressing  the  mind  and 
not  the  eye.  The  record  must  therefore  be  written  quietly 
if  it  is  to  be  written  truly,  and  it  should  be  read  in  the  same 
spirit.  From  time  to  time,  indeed,  we  shall  be  in  touch  with 
stirring  events  in  the  life  of  the  state  and  the  nation ;  but 
these  pages  must  be  filled  chiefly  with  other  things :  the 
material  growth  of  the  college,  the  development  of  the  cur- 
riculum, the  personality  of  members  of  the  Corporation  and 
Faculty,  the  intellectual  and  social  life  of  the  students;  in 
brief,  all  the  academic  influences  that  go  to  the  shaping  of 
men  and  their  preparation  for  right  living. 

It  was  not  an  accident  that  Brown  University  was  founded 
"when  and  where  it  was,  and  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Baptists. 

In  the  seventh  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  tide 
of  life  in  the  English  colonies  of  America  was  running  strong 
and  steadily  rising  higher.  Forest  and  field  had  been  sub- 
dued to  the  uses  of  man.  Danger  from  the  Indians,  except 
along  the  frontier,  was  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  recent 
French  and  Indian  War  had  freed  the  colonists  from  fear 
of  their  northern  neighbors  and  made  them  realize  their 
strength.  Their  numbers  had  increased  to  nearly  three  mil- 
lions; and  while  the  population  was  still  mostly  agricul- 

c  2  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tural,  many  towns  and  a  few  cities  had  grown  up  and  become 
centers  of  thought  and  action.  Agriculture  Mas  profitable; 
manufactures  \\  ere  yet  in  their  infancy,  but  commerce  was 
extending  on  land  and  sea ;  the  wealth  of  the  country  was 
considerable,  and  Mas  well  distributed.  In  short,  a  century 
and  a  half  had  settled  a  hardy  transplanted  stock  deep  into 
the  soil ;  its  roots  were  spreading,  its  sap  was  rising,  and 
new  shoots  were  springing  forth  in  ever  increasing  numbers. 
The  great  result  of  this  expanding  energy  was  to  be  the 
political  independence  of  the  country:  but  in  a  land  where 
education  had  always  been  highly  esteemed,  it  was  inevitable 
that  the  growing  life  should  show  itself  partly  in  the  found- 
ing of  colleges  ;  and  at  this  period  it  was  equally  certain  that 
the  new  colleges  would  be  established  chiefly  by  religious 
denominations  and  largely  with  a  vie^'  to  educating  young 
men  for  the  ministry.  In  the  first  hundred  years  of  English 
colonization  three  colleges  had  been  founded  in  America 
—  Harvard  College  in  1636,  William  and  Mary  College 
in  1693,  Yale  College  in  1701.  During  four  decades  of  the 
eighteenth  century  no  fewer  than  t\\  elve  colleges  were  es- 
tablished, including  the  College  of  New  Jersey  (now  Prince- 
ton University)  in  1746,  King's  College  (now  Columbia  Uni- 
versity) in  1754,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1755, 
Rutgers  College  in  1766,  Dartmouth  College  in  1769,  and 
the  College  of  Charleston  in  1785.  Midway  in  this  period 
of  college-planting  came  Brown  University,  in  1764. 

Most  of  these  institutions  were  controlled  by  religious 
bodies:  Harvard  and  Yale  by  the  Congregationalists ;  the 
College  of  New  Jersey  by  the  Presbyterians  ;  the  Universit}^ 
of  Pennsylvania,  King's  College,  and  William  and  Mary 
College  by  the  Episcopalians ;  Rutgers  College  by  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church.  It  was  natural  that  the  Baptists  also 
should  desire  a  college  of  their  own.  It  does  not  appear, 

C   3   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

however,  as  has  often  been  alleged,  that  their  need  was 
urgent  because  of  religious  tests  at  the  existing  colleges  or 
disabilities  attaching  to  Baptist  students.  At  Harvard  no 
religious  tests  for  students  had  ever  been  countenanced ;  and 
some  of  the  Mollis  scholarships,  in  accordance  with  a  pro- 
vision of  the  donor,  an  English  Baptist,  were  given  by  pref- 
erence to  Baptist  students.  At  Yale  the  temper  was  more 
severe,  yet  President  Clap  could  say  in  print  in  1766,  "Per- 
sons of  all  Denominations  of  Protestants  are  allowed  the 
Advantage  of  an  Education  here,  and  no  Inquiry  has  been 
made,  at  their  Admission  or  afterwards,  about  their  partic- 
ular Sentiments  in  Religion."  The  charter  of  King's  Col- 
lege forbade  the  authorities  to  make  any  laws  which  should 
exclude  any  Person  of  any  religious  Denomination  what- 
ever, from  equal  Liberty  and  Advantage  of  Education,  or 
from  any  of  the  Degrees,  Liberties,  Privileges,  Benefits,  or 
Immunities  of  the  said  College,  on  Account  of  his  particu- 
lar Tenets  in  Matters  of  Religion."  In  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  no  religious  tests  were  allowed.  The  second 
charter  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  granted  in  1748,  stip- 
ulated that  the  laws  of  the  college  should  not  exclude  "any 
Person  of  any  religious  Denomination,  whatsoever  from  free 
and  equal  Liberty  and  Advantage  of  Education,  or  from 
any  of  the  Liberties  Privileges  or  Immunities  of  the  said 
College  on  Account  of  his  or  their  being  of  a  religious  pro- 
fession different  from  the  said  Trustees  of  the  said  College. " 
It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  Baptist  students  could  obtain  a 
good  education  without  being  made  by  college  authorities 
to  suffer  for  their  creed. 

Why,  then,  should  a  religious  body  so  small  and  poor 
as  were  the  Baptists  undertake  to  found  a  college  ?  It  may 
be  replied  that  prejudice  against  an  unpopular  sect  doubt- 
less made  itself  felt  in  college  halls,  in  spite  of  charters  and 

C   4   J 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

rules,  and  rendered  the  life  of  Baptist  students  uncomfort- 
able. But  even  if  this  be  granted,  it  does  not  furnish  a  suf- 
ficient motive.  That  must  be  sought  deeper,  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Baptist  denomination  at  this  time. 

During  the  first  hundred  years  of  its  existence  in  the  New 
World  the  denomination  spread  slowly,  but  over  a  con- 
siderable area.  Beginning  with  churches  in  Providence  and 
Newport  before  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it 
soon  took  root  in  Boston  and  other  parts  of  Massachusetts 
(including  what  is  now  Maine),  had  planted  churches  in 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  South  Carolina  by  1700, 
and  early  in  the  next  century  gained  foothold  in  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  Delaware,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina. 
In  the  sectarian  warfare  then  raging  the  Baptists  thus  had 
a  long  firing-line,  but  it  was  very  thin.  In  1740  there  were 
but  twenty-one  Baptist  churches  in  all  New  England,  eleven 
of  them  in  Rhode  Island ;  the  other  strongest  centers  were 
Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  which  had  about  a  dozen 
churches,  made  up  in  part  of  Baptist  immigrants  from 
Wales.  Then  came  the  Great  Awakening  of  1740.  The 
Baptists  held  rather  aloof  from  it.  They  shared,  neverthe- 
less, in  the  general  quickening ;  and  in  subsequent  years 
they  gained  considerable  numbers  by  the  accession  of 
entire  churches  of  the  so-called  "New  Lights,"  who  in 
consequence  of  the  revival  had  separated  from  the  more 
conservative  Congregationalists.  The  denomination  now  en- 
tered upon  a  period  of  rapid  growth,  although  its  numbers 
were  for  many  years  relatively  small.  In  1768  the  Baptist 
churches  in  New  England  numbered  sixty-nine,  more  than 
treble  the  number  in  1 740  ;  and  by  1 790  they  had  increased 
fourfold,  numbering  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  and  having 
a  membership  of  more  than  seventeen  thousand ;  while  in  all 
North  America  their  membership  was  sixty-fixe  thousand. 

C  5   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

When  a  Baptist  college  was  first  talked  of,  in  1762,  the 
denomination  was  still  in  the  earlier  stages  of  this  remark- 
able growth.  Dr.  Ezra  Stiles,  a  Congregationalist  clergy- 
man, estimated  in  1760  that  the  total  Baptist  population 
in  New  England  was  twenty-two  thousand,  which  number 
would  be  considerably  increased  by  adding  the  Baptists  in 
the  Middle  and  Southern  States.  At  most,  however,  they 
were  one  of  the  smaller  sects ;  but  their  leaders  evidently 
felt  thus  early  the  thrill  of  a  larger  life  and  had  some  sense 
of  a  great  future.  This  feeling  was  strongest  in  the  Middle 
States,  where  the  Baptist  churches  had  a  fair  degree  of 
union  through  the  Philadelphia  Association,  which  in  1762 
embraced  twenty-nine  churches  in  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  New  York,  Maryland,  Delaware,  and  Virginia. 
Among  these  leaders  a  great  need  had  begun  to  make 
itself  felt,  the  need  of  an  educated  ministry.  The  mass  of 
the  Baptist  laymen  were  poor  and  ignorant,  and  most  of 
the  pastors  had  httle  learning.  Backus,  the  historian  of  the 
Baptists,  writing  to  an  English  friend  in  1765  or  1766, 
said  :  "One  grand  objection  made  use  of  against  Believer's 
Baptism,  has  been  that  none  but  ignorant  and  illiterate  men 
have  embraced  the  Baptist  sentiments.  And  there  was  so 
much  color  for  it  as  this,  namely,  that  ten  years  ago  there 
were  but  two  Baptist  ministers  in  all  New  England  who 
had  what  is  called  a  liberal  education;  and  they  were  not 
clear  in  the  doctrines  of  grace."  Again,  WTiting  in  defence 
of  the  Baptists  in  1768,  he  said :  "Several  who  have  for- 
merly sent  their  sons  to  college  have  been  disappointed,  as 
the  clergy  have  found  means  to  draw  them  over  to  their 
party;  which  has  discouraged  others  from  sending  their 
sons.  And  the  Baptists  in  general  have  been  so  much  abused, 
by  those  who  boast  of  their  Learnings  that  it  is  not  strange 
if  many  were  prejudiced  against  such  men."  These  condi- 

[  e: 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tions  must  be  changed  if  the  Baptist  denomination  was  to 
work  out  its  destiny  under  God  ;  and  to  get  an  educated  min- 
istry the  Baptists  must  have  schools  and  colleges  of  their 
own:  first,  because  Baptist  youth,  living  for  four  years  in 
a  college  atmosphere  strongly  charged  with  influences  hos- 
tile to  their  faith,  might  cease  to  be  Baptists  or  at  least  be- 
come lukewarm ;  and,  secondly,  because  many  Baptists  were 
indifferent  or  even  averse  to  higher  education,  and  could 
best  be  won  over  by  means  of  institutions  controlled  by 
their  own  sect. 

In  the  records  of  the  Philadelphia  Association  is  this 
entry  for  October  5,  1756:  "Concluded  to  Raise  a  sum  of 
Money  towards  the  encouragement  of  a  Latin  Grammar 
School  for  the  promotion  of  learning  amongst  us  under  the 
care  of  Brother  Isaac  Eaton  and  the  inspection  of  our  breth- 
ren Abel  Morgan,  Isaac  Stelle,  Abel  Griffith,  and  Peter 
Peterson  Vanhorn."  Thus  was  founded  the  first  Baptist 
academy.  It  was  opened  in  Hopewell,  New  Jersey,  where 
Mr.  Eaton  was  pastor,  and  ran  very  successfully  for  eleven 
years.  Among  its  pupils  were  James  Manning,  first  Presi- 
dent of  Brown  University ;  Samuel  Jones,  who  gave  the 
college  charter  its  final  form,  and  who  was  invited  to  be 
the  second  president;  Hezekiah  Smith  and  Samuel  Still- 
man,  eloquent  Baptist  preachers;  Isaac  Skillman,  member 
of  the  Boston  Committee  on  Grievances  in  pre-Revolution- 
ary  days;  and  David  Howell,  the  first  professor  in  Brown 
University. 

The  success  of  Hopewell  Academy  paved  the  way  for 
a  greater  enterprise,  the  establishment  of  a  Baptist  college. 
Among  some  papers  left  by  Howell  is  one  containing  this 
statement:  "Many  of  the  Churches  being  supplied  w'nh 
able  Pastors  from  Mr  Eatons  Academy  &  thus  being  con- 
vinced by  experience   of  the  great  usefullness  of  human 

[  ?■] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Literature  to  more  thoroughly  furnish  the  Man  of  God  for 
the  most  important  work  of  the  gospel  ministry  the  hands 
of  the  Philadelphian  Association  were  strengthend  &  their 
Hearts  encouraged  to  extend  their  designs  of  promoting 
literature  in  the  Society  by  erecting  on  some  suitable  part 
of  this  Continent  a  College  or  University  which  should  be 
principally  under  the  Direction  &  Government  of  the  Bap- 
tists." There  is  no  record  in  the  minutes  of  the  association 
of  any  formal  action  looking  to  the  founding  of  a  college ;  but 
the  tradition  is  that  the  matter  Avas  discussed  at  the  an- 
nual meeting  in  October,  1762,  and  some  plan  of  procedure 
agreed  upon.  Backus,  in  his  second  volume,  published  in 
1784,  says:  "The  Philadelphia  Association  obtained  such 
an  acquaintance  with  our  affairs,  as  to  bring  them  to  an  ap- 
prehension that  it  was  practicable  and  expedient  to  erect  a 
college  in  the  Colony  of  Rhode-Island,  under  the  chief  direc- 
tion of  the  Baptists ;  wherein  education  might  be  promoted, 
and  superior  learning  obtained,  free  of  any  sectarian  reli- 
gious tests.  And  Mr.  James  Manning,  who  took  his  first 
degree  in  New-Jersey  college  in  September,  1762,  w^as 
esteemed  a  suitable  leader  in  this  important  work."  The 
historian  does  not  say  in  what  year  the  association  arrived 
at  this  "apprehension."  But  the  Rev.  Morgan  Edwards, 
who  was  moderator  of  the  association  in  1762,  and  ac- 
cording to  tradition  "the  first  mover"  in  the  project,  made 
a  more  explicit  statement ;  in  his  Materials  for  a  History 
of  the  Baptists  in  Rhode  Island,  he  said,  speaking  of  the 
college:  "The  first  mover  for  it  in  1762  was  laughed  at 
as  a  projector  of  a  thing  iinpracticable.  Nay,  many  of  the 
Baptists  themselves  discouraged  the  design  (prophesying 
evil  to  the  churches  in  case  it  should  take  place)  from  an 
unhappy  prejudice  against  learning;  and  threatened  (not 
only  nonconcurrence  but)  opposition.  Nevertheless  a  young 

C  «  3 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Jersey-man  (who  is  now  at  the  head  of  the  institution)  \\ent 
to  Rhode-island  government  and  made  the  design  knonn." 

Nearly  a  year  ela])sed,  however,  between  the  meeting  of 
the  association  and  Manning's  visit  to  Rhode  Island.  It  was 
not  until  Jul}',  1763,  ^\  hen  his  vessel  touched  at  Newport 
on  the  way  to  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  that  the  future  presi- 
dent "made  the  design  known."  The  reasons  for  the  delay 
and  for  the  final  choice  of  this  colony  as  the  site  of  the  col- 
lege are  given  in  the  Howell  paper  already  quoted,  which 
goes  on  to  say:  "At  first  Some  of  the  Southern  Colonies 
seemed  to  bid  fairest  to  answer  their  purpose  there  not 
being  so  many  Colleges  in  those  Colonies  as  the  northerly 
but  the  [several  words  illegible]  northerly  Colonies  hav- 
ing been  visited  by  some  of  the  Association  who  informed 
them  of  the  great  increase  of  the  Baptist  Societies  of 
late  in  those  parts  &  that  Rhode  Island  GoAcrnment  had 
no  publick  School  or  College  in  it  &  was  originally  settled 
by  persons  of  the  Baptist  persuasion  &  a  greater  part  of 
the  Government  remaining  so  still :  there  was  no  longer 
any  doubt  but  that  was  the  most  suitable  place  to  carry 
the  design  into  execution."  Edwards  emphasizes  the  legal 
aspect  of  the  case,  saying,  "The  reason  of  his  attempt 
in  this  province  was  (as  has  been  observed).  That  legisla- 
ture is  here  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  Baptists,  and  therefore 
the  likeliest  place  to  have  a  baptist  college  established  by 
law." 

In  accordance  with  the  clear  evidence  of  contemporary 
documents,  stress  has  thus  far  been  laid  upon  the  part 
w^hich  Baptists  of  the  Middle  States  played  in  founding  the 
college.  But  Brown  University  is  neither  an  exotic  nor  a  de- 
nominational preserve ;  it  has  always  been  in  a  true  sense 
what  it  w^as  first  called,"  Rhode  Island  College,"  owing  its 
legal  existence  to  the  colonial  legislature,  built  up  largely 

C   9   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

by  the  wealth  and  culture  of  the  colony  and  state,  and  in 
return  giving  much  of  its  energy  to  educating  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  community  in  which  it  is  placed.  We 
shall  see  how  well  prepared  that  community  was  to  receive 
and  to  carry  forward  the  Baptists'  plan  for  a  new  college. 
When  the  young  graduate  of  New  Jersey  College  set 
foot  on  Rhode  Island  soil  in  the  summer  of  1763,  he  came 
to  a  region  already  rich,  for  a  new  world,  in  human  inter- 
est and  the  elements  of  higher  civiHzation.  A  century  and 
a  quarter  had  passed  since  Roger  Williams,  fleeing  from 
the  "unco  guid,"  had  paddled  down  the  Seekonk  to  the 
site  of  Providence,  and  William  Coddington  and  John 
Clarke  had  founded  Newport.  During  that  time  there  had 
been  many  a  tempest  in  the  little  teapot  of  Rhode  Island 
and  Providence  Plantations.  The  afflicted  and  the  eccentric 
from  various  quarters,  Antinomians,  Quakers,  "  Seekers," 
and  Anabaptists  of  all  stripes,  had  lived  here  together  in 
tumultuous  amity,  attacking  one  another's  heresies  but 
steadily  respecting  everybody's  right  to  preach  heresy  with- 
out restraint  from  the  civil  power.  At  Portsmouth  had  re- 
sided for  a  time  that  extreme  individualist  Samuel  Gorton 
— in  comparison  with  whom  Roger  Williams  was  a  con- 
servative—  and  Anne  Hutchinson,  that  "new  woman" 
born  out  of  due  time.  A  little  later  many  Quakers,  scourged 
out  of  Boston,  found  safety  in  Newport  and  other  parts  of 
the  colony;  from  which,  however,  they  went  forth  again 
and  again  to  face  "the  enemies  of  the  Lord"  in  Massa- 
chusetts. The  founder  of  the  Quakers  had  himself  been  in 
Newport  in  1762,  and  Roger  Williams  rowed  down  from 
Providence  to  refute  his  errors  in  the  bloodless  Avarfare  of 
debate;  Fox  had  departed,  but  his  associates  fought  for 
him  the  battle  of  the  Lord  in  the  Quaker  meeting-house. 
Yet  the  principle  of  "soul  libertv"  had  done  more  even 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

than  the  presence  of  these  strong  characters  to  make  the 
colony  famous  and  its  soil  almost  sacred.  "For  the  first 
time  in  human  history,"  writes  the  historian  Richman, 
"State  had  wholly  been  dissociated  from  Church  in  a  com- 
monwealth not  Utopian  but  real." 

To  this  age  of  small  beginnings  and  great  principles  there 
had  succeeded,  in  the  half-century  before  Manning's  arrival, 
a  period  of  growing  prosperity  in  material  things  ;  and  this 
wealth  had  brought,  especially  to  Newport,  a  considerable 
degree  of  culture. 

The  wealth  of  Newport  came  from  the  sea.  She  and  her 
neighbor  toAvns built  staunch  litde  craft  and  sent  them  forth, 
some  to  capture  rich  prizes  from  the  enemies  of  Great  Bri- 
tain, others  to  carry  on  profitable  trade.  Vessels  laden  with 
New  England  rum  set  sail  for  the  coast  of  Guinea ,  exchanged 
their  cargo  for  slaves,  sold  them  at  Barbadoes,  and  brought 
home  molasses  from  which  to  make  more  rum.  In  addition 
to  this  traffic  over  the  "triangular  course,"  there  was  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  general  commerce  with  the  Mediterranean 
countries  and  the  Levant.  The  great  Newport  merchants, 
the  sea  lords  of  their  day,  were  of  various  nations,  thus 
giving  the  little  seaport  town  a  cosmopolitan  air.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  Wantons,  the  Browns,  the  Hazards,  the  Whip- 
pies,  and  others  of  Rhode  Island  stock,  says  Richman, 
"the  Redwoods  were  there  from  Antigua,  the  De  Courcys 
from  Ireland,  the  Grants  and  Edward  Scott  (grand-uncle  of 
Sir  Walter)  from  Scodand,  and  the  Bretts  from  Germany," 
besides  Huguenots  from  the  Carolinas,  and  Jews  from  Spain 
and  Portugal.  These  sea-traders  were  characterized  by  large- 
ness of  view  and  generous  tastes.  They  built  themsehes 
spacious  dwelling-houses  and  country  villas,  furnished  with 
comfort  and  some  degree  of  elegance,  and  surrounded  by 
gardens.  The  social  amenities  among  them  and  their  fam- 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ilies  were  cultivated  by  clubs  of  various  sorts  and  by  teas, 
balls,  and  occasional  plays.  Love  of  good  literature  showed 
itself  in  the  growth  of  private  libraries  and  in  the  opening 
of  the  famous  Redwood  Library  in  1750.  Education  in 
Rhode  Island  as  a  whole  was  backward ;  but  Newport  had 
a  schoolhouse  by  1685,  and  in  1710  granted  permission 
for  keeping  a  Latin  school  in  a  part  of  it.  A  printing-press 
was  set  up  in  1727  by  James  Franklin,  who  five  years  later 
began  to  publish  the  Gazette,  the  first  newspaper  in  Rhode 
Island. 

While  these  and  other  elements  of  culture  in  ' '  the  Golden 
Age  of  Newport"  were  due  primarily  to  wealth  and  leisure 
and  to  the  temper  of  the  leading  men,  the  finer  spirit  of  the 
community  had  been  quickened  by  the  sojourn  within  it 
of  a  distinguished  visitor  from  England.  In  1729  Dean  Ber- 
keley came  to  Newport  on  his  way  to  found  a  college  in 
the  Bermudas,  and  there  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  en- 
dowment promised  him  by  the  English  prime  minister.  He 
waited  nearly  three  years,  and  went  away  at  last  empty 
handed ;  but  he  left  behind  him  a  rich  legacy  of  lofty 
thought  and  generous  culture.  The  accomplished  European 
gentleman  and  divine,  the  friend  of  Addison,  Steele,  Swift, 
and  Pope,  the  brilliant  idealistic  philosopher,  entered  sym- 
pathetically into  the  life  of  the  colonial  town.  He  built  a 
country  house  near  the  sea,  and  composed  there  some  of  the 
most  charming  of  his  philosophic  dialogues ;  he  preached 
occasionally  in  the  Episcopal  church ;  and  he  became  the 
friend  of  all  the  leading  men.  They  were  not  unworthy  of 
his  friendship,  including  in  their  number  William  Wan- 
ton, governor,  Daniel  Updike,  attorne^'^-general  and  student 
of  history,  William  Ellery,  father  of  a  signer  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  Samuel  Johnson,  afterward  presi- 
dent of  King's  College,  and  Henry  Collins,  patron  of  art, 

C    12    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

who  has  been  called  the  Lorenzo  de' Medici  of  Newport.  It 
was  during  Berkeley's  stay,  and  very  likely  at  his  instance, 
that  these  and  other  men  with  him  formed  the  Philosophi- 
cal Society,  the  "  precursor  of  the  Redwood  Library." 

After  Berkeley  went  away  the  ideals  which  he  repre- 
sented were  continued  down  to  the  time  of  the  Re\olution 
by  a  group  of  talented  men.  Among  them  were  several  paint- 
ers :  Smibert,  who  had  come  with  the  dean,  Feke,  King, 
and  Alexander,  the  reputed  teacher  of  Gilbert  Stuart.  Rich- 
ard Munday  and  Peter  Harrison  were  skillful  architects : 
the  latter,  trained  under  Vanbrugh,  built  the  Redwood  Li- 
brary, the  City  Hall,  and  the  impressive  Jewish  synagogue 
(dedicated  a  few  months  after  Manning's  visit) ;  the  former 
designed  Newport  Trinity  Church  and  the  colony  capitol. 
Redwood  and  Collins  were  munificent  patrons  of  art.  Science 
was  well  represented  by  Dr.  Thomas  Brett,  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Leyden,  and  Dr.  William  Hunter.  Among  the 
clergymen  were  scholars  of  ability  ;  and  one  of  them,  Ezra 
Stiles,  subsequently  became  president  of  Yale  College.  The 
Redwood  Library  and  the  excellent  private  libraries  in  New- 
port and  Narragansett  —  containing  such  works  as  The 
Faerie  Queene^  Samson  Agonistes^  Jonson's  plays,  Moliere's 
plays,  Pope's  Homer,  and  the  writings  of  Addison,  Steele, 
and  Swift,  at  a  time  when  Harvard  had  none  of  them — 
contributed  much  to  the  general  culture  of  the  southern  part 
of  the  colony. 

It  was,  then,  no  illiterate  or  narrow-minded  community 
that  James  Manning  entered  in  the  summer  of  1763  with 
the  project  of  establishing  a  college.  The  Baptists  of  the 
Philadelphia  Association  had  chosen  perhaps  e\en  better 
than  they  knew.  The  soil  was  \vell  prepared  for  the  plant- 
ing of  an  institution  of  liberal  culture ;  and  the  wonder  is 
not  that  the  gentlemen  to  whom  he  presented  the  plan  Mel- 

C    13   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

corned  it  at  once,  but  rather  that  such  a  project  had  not 
already  been  realized.  That  Ezra  Stiles  had  been  planning 
a  college  for  Rhode  Island  is  clearly  proved  by  the  following 
extracts  from  a  letter  written  to  him  on  January  20,  1762, 
by  Chauncy  Whittelsey,  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  New 
Haven:  "The  week  before  last  I  sent  you  the  Copy  of  Yale 
College  Charter.  .  .  .  Should  you  make  any  Progress  in  the 
Affair  of  a  Colledge,  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  of  it ;  I  heart- 
ily wish  you  Success  therein.  .  .  .  Your  Governmt.  have  as 
good  a  right  to  a  Seminary  of  Learning  as  any  other,  and 
had  you  a  Colledge  of  your  own.  Learning  would  undoubt- 
edly be  in  Credit  and  prevail  among  you,  much  more  than 
it  otherwise  will."  The  Newport  friends  of  Dr.  Stiles  prob- 
ably shared  his  purpose.  At  any  rate,  the  relation  between 
the  culture  of  Newport  and  the  founding  of  the  college  is 
strikingly  shown  by  the  fact  that  of  the  first  petitioners  for 
a  charter,  numbering  sixty-two,  twenty-one  were  share- 
holders in  the  Redwood  Library. 

So  immediate  was  the  indorsement  of  Manning's  plan 
that  a  charter  was  framed  and  laid  before  the  General  As- 
sembly at  its  August  session  in  Newport  in  1763  ;  but  ac- 
tion on  it  was  postponed .  A  somewhat  different  charter  was 
presented  at  sessions  in  October,  1763,  and  January,  1764, 
and  was  finally  granted  at  the  session  in  East  Greenwich 
on  March  2  and  3,  1764;  it  was  signed  and  sealed  by  the 
governor  and  secretary  on  October  24,  1765.  Such  are  the 
bare  facts  ;  but  among  the  chief  movers  in  the  affair  a 
famous  struggle  took  place  between  the  first  drafting  and 
the  final  granting  of  the  charter. 

James  Manning  himself,  quoted  by  Morgan  Edwards  in 
his  Materials  for  a  History  of  the  Baptists  in  Rhode  Island^ 
compiled  in  1771,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  whole 
matter : 

C    14  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

In  the  month  of  July  1763  we  arrived  to  Newport,  and  made  a 
motion  to  several  gentlemen  of  the  baptist  denomination  (whereof 
col.  Gardner  the  deput^•  governor  was  one)  relative  to  a  seminar)'  of 
polite  literature  subject  to  the  government  of  the  Baptists.  The  mo- 
tion was  properly  attended  to,  which  brought  together  about  15  gentle- 
men of  the  same  denomination  at  the  deputy's  house,  who  requested 
that  I  would  draw  a  sketch  of  the  design  against  the  day  following. 
That  day  came;  and  the  said  gentlemen,  with  other  Baptists,  met  in 
the  same  place  when  a  rough  draught  was  produced  and  read.  The 
tenor  of  which  was  that  the  institution  was  to  be  a  baptist  one ;  but 
that  as  many  of  other  denominations  should  be  taken  in  as  was  con- 
sistent with  the  said  design.  Accordingly  the  honourable  Josias  Lyn- 
don and  col.  Job  Bennet  were  appointed  to  draw  a  charter  to  be 
laid  before  the  next  general  assembl}'  with  a  petition  that  the^■  would 
pass  it  into  a  law.  But  the  said  gentlemen  pleading  unskilfulness  touch- 
ing an  affair  of  the  kind  requested  that  their  trust}'  friend,  Re\'.  Ezra 
(now  Dr.)  Styles  might  be  solicited  to  assist  them.  This  was  opposed 
by  me  as  unwilling  to  give  the  Dr.  trouble  about  an  affair  of  other 
people;  but  they  urged  that  his  love  of  learning,  and  Catholicism,  would 
induce  him  readily  to  give  his  assistance.  Accordingly  their  proposal 
was  consented  to,  and  his  assistance  obtained ;  or  rather  the  draught- 
ing of  the  charter  was  left  entirely  to  him,  after  being  told  that  the 
Baptists  were  to  have  the  lead  in  the  institution  and  the  government 
thereof  forever;  and  that  no  more  of  other  denominations  were  to  be 
admitted  than  would  be  consistent  with  that.  The  charter  was  drawn ; 
and  a  time  and  place  appointed  for  the  parties  concerned  to  meet  and 
hear  it  read.  But  the  vessel  in  which  I  was  to  sail  for  Halifax  going 
off  that  day  prevented  m}'  being  present  with  them  long  enough  to 
see  whether  the  original  design  was  secured.  And  as  the  corporation 
was  made  to  consist  of  two  branches,  trustees  and  fellows;  and  those 
branches  to  sit  and  act  b}'  distinct  and  separate  powers  it  was  not 
easy  to  determine  by  a  tra[n]sient  hearing  what  those  powers  might 
be.  The  trustees  were  presumed  to  be  the  principal  branch  of  author- 
ity; and  as  19  out  of  35  were  to  be  baptists,  the  baptists  were  sat- 
isfied without  sufficient  examination  into  the  authority  \'ested  in  the 
fellowship  (which  afterwards  appeared  to  be  the  soul  of  the  institu- 
tion while  the  trusteeship  was  only  the  body) ,  and  placing  an  entire 
confidence  in   Dr  Styles,  the)'  agreed  to  join  in  a  petition  to  the 

[  15  1 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

assembh'  to  have  the  charter  confirmed  by  authority.  The  pe[ti]tion 
was  prefered  and  cheerfully  received  by  the  assembl)',  and  the  char- 
ter read ;  after  which  a  vote  was  called  for  and  urged  by  some  to  pass 
it  into  a  law.  But  this  was  opposed  by  others,  particularly  by  Daniel 
Jenckes  Esq.  member  for  Providence,  alledging  that  the  assembly  re- 
quired more  time  to  examine  whether  it  was  agreeable  to  the  design 
of  the  first  movers  for  it ;  and  therfore  prayed  the  house  to  have  the 
perusal  of  it  while  they  adjourned  for  dinner.  This  was  granted  with 
some  opposition;  then  he  asked  the  governor  (who  was  a  baptist). 
Whom  they  intended  to  invest  with  the  governing  power  in  said  in- 
stitution ?  The  governor  answered.  The  baptists  by  all  means.  Then 
Mr  Jenckes  showed  him,  that  the  charter  was  so  artfully  constructed 
as  to  throw  the  power  into  the  fellows'  hands  whereof  8  out  of  12 
were  presbj^erians  (usually  called  Congregationalists)  and  that  the 
other  four  might  be  of  the  same  denomination  for  ought  that  appeared 
in  the  charter  to  the  contrar^^  Convinced  of  this,  governor  Lyndon 
immediately  had  an  interview  with  Dr.  Stales  (the  presb}terian  min- 
ister of  Newport)  and  demanded.  Why  he  had  perverted  the  design 
of  the  charter?  the  answer  was,  I  gave  you  timely  xvarmng  to  take 
care  of  yourselves^  for  that  rue  had  done  so  xvhth  regard  to  our  society ; 
and  finally  observed,  the  [  =  that]  he  was  not  the  rogue.  WTien  the 
assembly  was  convened  again,  the  said  Jenckes  moved  that  the  affair 
might  be  put  off  to  the  next  session,  adding.  That  the  motion  for  a 
college  originated  with  the  Baptists  and  was  intended  for  their  use, 
but  that  the  charter  in  question  was  not  at  all  calculated  to  answer 
their  purpose;  and  since  the  committee  (entrusted  by  the  Baptists) 
professed  that  they  were  misled,  not  to  say  imposed  upon,  that  it  was 
necessary  the  Baptists  in  other  parts  of  the  colony  should  be  consulted 
previous  to  its  passing  into  a  law,  especially  as  few  (if  any  of  them 
except  himself)  had  seen  it;  and  prayd  yt  [  =  that]  he  might  have 
a  copy  for  the  said  purpose,  — which  he  promised  to  return.  All  which 
were  granted.  When  the  charter  came  to  be  narrowly  inspected  it  was 
found  to  be  by  no  means  answerable  to  the  design  of  the  agitators  and 
the  instructions  given  the  committee.  Consequentl)'  application  was 
made  to  the  Philadelphia  association  (where  the  thing  took  its  rise)  to 
ha\^e  their  mind  on  the  subject,  who  immediately  sent  two  gentlemen^ 

^The  Rev.  Samuel  Jones  was  the  only  one  sent,  but  Mr.  R.  S.  Jones  volunta- 
rily came  witli  him. 

C    16  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

hither  to  join  with  the  Baptists  of  this  colon\'  in  making  what  alter- 
ations and  amendments  that  were  to  them  specified  before  tlieir  de- 
parture. When  they  arrived  Dr.  Ajeres  of  Newport  was  added  to 
the  committee;  and  the}'  happily  draughted  the  present  charter,  and 
lodged  it,  with  a  new  petition,  in  proper  hands.  The  most  material 
alterations  were.  Appointing  the  same  number  of  baptists  in  the  fellow- 
ship that  had  been  appointed  (^of  ])resb\terians)  b\'  Dr.  St\les;  settling 
the  presidency  in  the  baptist  societ}' ;  adding  5  baptists  to  the  trustees, 
and  putting  more  episcopalians  than  presbjterians  in  the  corporation. 

Daniel  Jenckes  is  next  quoted  by  Edwards,  presenting  a 
fuller  narrative  of  proceedings  in  the  legislature : 

WTiile  I  attended  the  business  of  the  assembly  (held  Aug.  1763) 
capt.  William  Rogers  came  to  the  council  chamber  &  presented  me 
with  a  paper  with  a  design  I  should  sign  it,  adding.  That  as  it  was 
a  petition  for  a  baptist  college  he  knew  I  would  not  refuse.  Business 
not  permiting  me  to  attend  to  him  immediatl)"  I  requested  he  would 
leave  with  me  the  pe[ti]tion  and  charter;  mean  while  the  Serjeant 
made  proclamation  requiring  the  members  to  take  their  seats ;  in  m\' 
seat  I  began  to  read  the  papers,  but  had  not  clone  before  the  petition 
and  charter  were  called  for,  which  I  ga\'e  to  the  Serjeant  and  he 
to  the  speaker  at  the  board.  The  petition  being  read  a  motion  was 
made  to  receive  it  and  grant  the  charter.  After  some  time  I  stood  up 
to  oppose  proceeding  immediately  on  the  petition,  gi\'ing  m\'  rea- 
son in  words  to  this  effect,  /  understood  that  the  college  in  question 
■was  sought  for  by  the  baptists;  and  that  it  ivas  to  be  under  their 
govermnent  and  direction^  ivith  admition  only  of  fexv  of  other  reli- 
gious denominations  to  share  with  them  therein^  that  theij  might 
appear  as  catholic  as  could  be^  consistent  tvith  their  main  design; 
but  on  the  contrary  I  perceived  bij  glancing  over  the  charter^  rvhile 
I  sat  in  my  place  Just  norv^  that  the  main  power  of  government  and 
direction  is  vested  in  twelve  fellows^  and  that  8  out  of  the  12  are  to 
be  presbyterians ;  and  that  the  other  nun/  or  may  not  be  of  the  same 
denomination;  but  of  necessity  none  of  them  is  to  be  a  baptist.  If  so., 
there  is  treachery  some  ivhere.,  and  a  desingn  of  gross  h/  imposing  on 
the  honest  people  who  first  moved  for  the  institution  ;  I  therefore  desire 
that  the  matter  may  lie  by  till  the  after  noon.  This  was  granted.  In  the 
after  noon  the  matter  was  resumed  with  a  seeming  resolution  in  some 

C    17  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

to  push  it  through  at  all  events;  but  I  had  influence  enough  to  stop 
proceeding  then  also.  That  evning  and  next  morning  I  made  it  my 
business  to  see  governor  Lyndon  and  col.  Bennet  and  to  inform  them 
of  the  constiTiction  of  the  charter.  They  could  not  believe  me  for 
the  confidence  they  had  in  Dr.  Styles  honour  and  integrit}^',  untill  see- 
ing convinced  them.  What  reflections  followed  may  be  better  con- 
cealed than  published.  However  we  all  agreed  to  post[p]one  passing 
the  charter  into  a  law;  and  did  effect  our  purpose  for  that  session, 
not  withstanding  the  attempts  of  Mr  EUery  and  others  of  the  pres- 
b\'terians  to  the  contrarJ^  Before  the  breaking  up  of  the  assembly 
the  house  at  my  request  directed  the  speaker  to  deli\er  the  charter 
to  me  after  I  had  made  a  promise  it  should  be  forth  coming  at  the 
next  meeting  of  the  assembly.  I  took  the  charter  to  Pro^•idence  and 
showed  it  to  many  who  came  to  my  house:  others  borrowed  it  to 
peruse  at  home.  Mean  while  the  messengers  from  the  Philadelphia 
association  arrived  in  Newport  which  occasioned  the  committee  of 
Newport  to  send  to  me  for  the  charter.  I  asked  for  it  of  Dr  Ephraim 
Bowen  who  had  borrowed  it  last.  The  Dr.  said  he  lent  it  to  Sam- 
uel Nightingal  Esq. ;  search  was  made  for  it  there,  but  it  could  not 
be  found ;  neither  do  I  know  to  this  day  what  became  of  it.  When 
the  next  general  assembly  met  (last  Wednesday  in  Oct.  1763)  the 
second  charter  was  presented ;  which  was  much  faulted  and  opposed 
by  the  gentry  who  concerned  themselves  so  warmly  about  the  other. 
And  one  in  particular  demanded  yt  [  =  that]  the  first  charter,  which 
had  been  entrusted  with  me,  might  be  produceed.  Then  I  related 
(as  above)  that  it  was  lost;  and  the  manner  how  it  was  lost;  but 
the  party,  instead  of  believing  this  very  rudely  suggested  that  I  had 
secreted  the  charter,  and  in  the  face  of  the  court,  charged  me  with 
a  breach  of  trust;  which  brought  on  very  disagreeable  altercations 
and  bickerings, — till  at  last  I  was  necessitated  to  ssiy^  that  if  there  had 
been  anif  foul  doing  it  rvas  among  them  of  their  ow7i  denomination 
at  Providence.  Their  clamors  continued;  and  we  gave  way  to  them 
that  session  for  peace  sake.  Meanwhile  Dr  Bowen,  who  is  a  man 
of  strict  honour  and  integrity,  used  all  means  to  recover  the  foiTner 
charter,  posting  an  advertisement  in  the  most  public  place  in  town, 
and  making  diligent  enquiry;  but  to  no  purpose.  At  the  next  assem- 
bly (which  met  in  Feb.  1764)  the  new  charter  was  again  brought  on 
the  carpet;  and  the  same  clamour  against  it,  and  unjust  reproaches 

C  18  2 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

against  me  were  repeated,  It  was  said,  that  the  new  charter  was  not 
like  the  old,  and  was  constructed  to  deprive  the  preshyterians  of  the 
benefit  of  the  institution.  To  which  it  was  replied,  That  it  ivas  agree- 
able to  the  desig'n  of  the  first  undertakers;  ££?  if  calculated  to  deprive 
the  preshyterians  of  the  power  theij  xvantedit  was  no  more  than  luhat 
they  themselves  had  attempted  to  do  to  the  Baptists.  After  much  and 
warm  debate  the  question  was  put,  and  carried  in  favour  of  the  new 
charter  by  a  great  majority. 

The  most  obvious  interpretation  of  these  contemporary 
statements  is  that  Dr.  Stiles  played  a  trick  upon  the  Bap- 
tists, or  allowed  some  one  else  to  play  it,  abusing  the  trust 
they  had  in  him  to  thwart  their  purpose.  This  was  the 
view  of  Edwards,  who  says,  "Thus  the  bapdsts  narrowly 
escaped  being  jockied  out  of  their  college  by  a  set  of  men 
in  whom  they  reposed  entire  confidence."  Such  an  expla- 
nation is  simple  and  intelligible,  but  there  is  an  insuperable 
objection  to  it — the  character  of  the  Rev.  Ezra  Stiles.  All 
else  that  we  know  of  him  makes  it  incredible  that  he  should 
have  been  thus  false,  not  merely  to  the  Baptists,  but  to  his 
personal  friends  in  Newport,  who,  as  Manning  says,  placed 
"entire  confidence"  in  him.  Mr.  Stiles,  then  thirty-six 
years  of  age,  a  graduate  of  Yale  and  for  six  years  a  tutor 
there,  had  been  settled  in  the  pastorate  of  the  Second  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Newport  since  1755.  He  was  libra- 
rian of  the  Redwood  Library,  a  student  of  Hebrew,  Arabic, 
and  astronomy,  and  a  man  of  very  liberal  spirit,  as  is  shown 
by  his  warm  friendship  with  the  Newport  rabbi,  Dr.  Touro, 
and  by  his  inviting  Baptist  ministers  (including  Mr.  Ed- 
wards himself)  to  preach  in  his  pulpit.  The  University  of 
Edinburgh  recognized  his  character  and  ability  by  giving 
him  the  degree  of  D.D.  in  1765  ;  and  in  1777  Yale  College 
called  him  to  the  presidency,  an  office  which  he  filled  with 
great  abiHty  until  his  death  in  1795.  It  is  incredible  that 

C    19  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

a  Christian  scholar  of  high  character  and  unblemished  rep- 
utation should  in  this  instance  have  stooped  to  trickery  that 
would  shame  an  unprincipled  politician.  President  Man- 
ning apparently  did  not  think  so  meanly  of  Stiles,  for  he 
remained  his  friend,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  entry 
in  Stiles's  diary  for  November  26,  1773  :  "Last  Evening 
President  Manning  \isited  me  and  stayed  from  a  little  be- 
fore Nine  to  within  about  a  quarter  of  Twelve,  discoursing 
on  sundry  Things  —  he  brought  a  Copy  of  a  Diploma, 
which  he  was  sending  to  London  to  be  cut  on  copper  plate. ' ' 
The  friends  of  the  college,  chiefly  Baptists,  did  not  lose 
faith  in  him,  for  they  tried  to  make  him  one  of  the  original 
fellows;  neither  did  the  Corporation,  a  majority  of  whom 
were  Baptists,  for  in  1765  they  elected  him  a  fellow,  an 
honor  which  he  again  declined.  Furthermore,  Governor 
Lyndon  and  Colonel  Bennet  were  still  on  good  terms  with 
him  in  later  years,  as  various  entries  in  his  diary  show. 
Finally,  the  words  of  Stiles  himself  give  the  impression 
that  in  this  matter  he  acted  openly  and  w-ith  a  good  con- 
science. Instead  of  acknowledging  that  he  employed  under- 
hand means,  he  asserts  that  there  was  an  agreement  as  to 
the  charter,  and  reproaches  the  Baptists  for  having  aban- 
doned a  liberal  plan  for  a  narrower  one.  "In  an  interleaved 
Almanac  for  1763,  ...  is  this  entry,  in  Dr.  Stiles's  hand," 
savs  the  editor  of  his  diary: ' '  '  Sept.  20.  The  Baptists  desert 
their  Junction  with  the  Congregationalists,  and  engross  all 
the  Power  in  the  proposed  Rh.  Isl.  College  to  themselves, 
after  they  had  agreed  to  share  the  Ballances  with  us.'" 
Again,  according  to  his  editor,  this  note,  signed  by  Dr. 
Stiles,  is  attached  to  a  copy  of  The  Providence  Gazette  for 
April  28,  1764,  which  contains  the  newly  granted  charter  : 
"This  charter  draughted  by  Mr.  William  Ellery,  Junr. 
and  myself  before  the  Baptists  deserted  the  Congregation- 

C    20    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

alists."  Finally,  in  a  letter  dated  August  26,  1768,  he 
writes:  "We  had  lately  a  catholic  plan  for  a  College  in 
Rhode  Island,  but  it  turned  out  Supremacy  &  Monopoly  in 
the  hands  of  the  Baptists,  \\  hose  Influence  in  our  Assembly 
was  such  that  they  obtained  a  most  ample  Charter  to  their 
purpose.  .  .  ,  Howe\  er  I  heartily  w  ish  the  College  prosper- 
ity, as  it  is  the  only  Means  of  introducing  Learning  among 
our  protestant  Brethren  the  Baptists,  I  mean  among  their 
Ministers." 

These  do  not  sound  like  the  words  of  a  trickster  caught 
in  his  trickery ;  they  seem  rather  those  of  a  broad-minded 
man  disappointed  and  somewhat  indignant  that  a  liberal 
plan  once  assented  to  had  been  abandoned.  We  may  grant 
that  his  plan  of  dividing  the  power  alx)ut  equally  between 
Baptists  and  Congregationalists  was  not  wise,  and  ^\•ould 
not  have  carried  out  the  wishes  of  the  majority  of  the  Bap- 
tists; but  must  we  not  believe  that  he  \vas  perfectly  frank 
and  honest  in  his  method  of  promoting  it?  The  charter  was 
not  to  go  direct  to  the  legislature  from  his  hands:  it  was 
to  be  read  to  a  company  of  intelligent  men  especially  as- 
sembled to  hear  it.  How  could  he  hope  to  deceive  them,  if 
he  had  wished  to  do  so?  How  could  he  anticipate  that  the 
main  provisions  of  his  charter  would  fail  to  become  per- 
fectly clear  during  this  first  reading  and  discussion?  Presi- 
dent Manning  thought  that  there  was  a  misunderstanding 
due  to  the  intricacy  of  the  document.  He  himself,  being 
called  away  early,  could  not  examine  it  then,  and  probably 
never  did  so  later,  since  it  was  soon  lost.  The  ground  for 
misunderstanding  lay,  he  thought,  in  the  division  of  power 
between  the  trustees  and  the  fellows,  the  Newport  Baptists 
assuming  that  the  former  Mere  "the  principal  branch  of 
authority,"  whereas  the  latter  really  proved  to  be  "the  soul 
of  the  institution."  Yet  Mr.  Jenckes  grasped  the  facts  by 

C  21  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

merely  ' '  glancing  over  the  charter ' '  while  he  sat  in  his  place 
in  the  Assembly.  How  could  the  original  movers,  among 
^^•hom  were  cultivated  men  of  trained  minds,  have  been 
either  deceived  or  blinded,  unless  by  their  own  heedlessness 
or  indifference?  They  heard  the  charter  and  approved  it, 
and  petitioned  for  its  granting.  There  is  no  charge  that  it 
was  altered  before  it  reached  the  legislature.  There  it  was 
that  objections  began,  started  by  one  who  was  not  present 
at  the  Newport  conference.  In  the  face  of  all  later  accusa- 
tions stands  the  fact  that  those  who  asked  Dr.  Stiles  to  write 
the  draft  heard  and  accepted  it ;  and  it  is  wholly  improbable 
that  he  could  or  would  have  imposed  upon  them.  Neither 
could  he  or  would  he  have  allowed  his  friend  William 
Ellery  to  do  it  in  his  name,  as  some  have  said  :  that  would 
have  been  equally  impossible,  and  doubly  improbable,  im- 
plying weakness  as  well  as  treachery  in  a  man  incapable 
of  either. 

Furthermore,  a  careful  examination  of  the  charter  that 
he  drew  (of  which  copies  have  survived)  fails  to  reveal  any 
imposition.  According  to  President  Manning,  Dr.  Stiles  was 
told  ' '  that  the  Baptists  were  to  have  the  lead  in  the  institu- 
tion and  the  government  thereof  forever  ;  and  that  no  more 
of  other  denominations  were  to  be  admitted  than  would  be 
consistent  with  that."  His  instructions  were,  it  will  be  ob- 
served, very  general.  In  the  charter  which  he  framed  nine- 
teen of  the  thirty-five  trustees  were  to  be  Baptists,  seven 
Congregationalists  or  Presbyterians,  five  Friends,  four  Epis- 
copalians. Of  the  twelve  fellows  eight  were  to  be  Congre- 
gationalists or  Presbyterians,  and  the  rest  of  any  denomina- 
tions. The  trustees  were  to  elect  the  president  (who  might 
be  of  any  Protestant  denomination),  after  consultation  with 
the  fellows.  The  fellows  (of  whom  the  president  was  one) 
were  to  confer  degrees,  nominate  all  officers  except  the 

C    22    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

president,  enact  the  laws,  and  have  control  of  the  instruc- 
tion and  immediate  government;  but  the  confirmation  of 
every  nomination  and  enactment  Mas  to  rest  with  the  trus- 
tees. This  division  of  power  between  the  t\\o  branches 
was  not  very  unequal,  and,  in  spite  of  Manning's  impres- 
sion, what  advantage  there  was  belonged  to  the  trustees. 
Indeed,  the  only  unfettered  power  of  the  fellows  was  that 
of  granting  degrees ;  and  the  one  unfettered  power  of  the 
trustees,  that  of  electing  the  president  (after  ' '  consultation ' ' 
with  the  fellows),  far  outweighed  in  its  consequences  the 
fellows'  independent  power,  for  any  man  worthy  of  elec- 
tion to  the  presidency  would  profoundly  affect  the  whole 
policy  and  character  of  the  college.  In  all  but  the  purely 
academic  matter  of  granting  degrees  the  trustees  had  the 
ultimate  power,  in  the  form  of  a  veto,  besides  possessing 
absolute  control  in  the  election  of  the  head  of  the  whole 
institution.^  Surely  the  document  does  not  bear  out  Man- 

^  That  the  Congregationalists  understood  the  charter's  provisions  in  this  way, 
and  beheved  them  to  answer  the  condition  "  that  the  Bajjtists  were  to  ha\e 
the  lead  in  the  institution  and  the  government  thereof  forever,"  is  a  view 
independently  reached.  When  it  had  already  been  stated  and  explained,  as 
above,  it  received  confirmation  from  a  copy  of  a  letter,  apparently  by  Wil- 
liam Ellery,  found  among  the  papers  of  the  late  Dr.  David  King,  former 
president  of  the  Newport  Historical  Society  ;  the  letter  was  written  at  tlie 
request  of  Dr.  Stiles  in  reply  to  certain  objections  "resjjecting  the  Charter 
for  a  College  in  this  Colony,"  and  is  in  part  as  follows:  "The  design  of  the 
College  which  was  first  started  here,  originated  among  the  Baptist  Denomi- 
nation. They  opened  it  to  some  Congregationalists,  of  whom  I  was  one, 
and  requested  us  to  join  them  in  this  laudable  Undertaking.  In  consequence 
hereof  a  Meeting  was  held,  and  the  following  Articles  projjosed  and  finally 
agreed  to,  as  the  immutable  Basis  of  tiie  Constitution,  First,  that  the  Cor- 
poration shall  consist  of  two  distinct  Bi-anches  by  the  name  of  Trustees  &c 
Fellows.  2d.  That  in  the  former  the  Biiptists  and  in  the  latter,  the  Congre- 
gationalists should  forever  ha\'e  the  Majority's  specified  in  the  Charter.  3d. 
That  the  Election  of  President  should  always  be  in  the  Trustees  and  that 
they  should  ha\'e  the  Negati\e  and  Controul  ujjon  all  the  Nomination  of  Of- 
ficers and  upon  the  Laws  proposed  l)y  the  Fellows  and  in  short  tliat  they 
should  have  a  disallowance  on  e\'eiy  Proposal  of  every  Kind  made  to  them 

c  23 : 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ning's  statement  that  the  fellowship  was  ' '  the  soul  of  the  in- 
stitution "  and  the  trusteeship  "only  the  body."  The  truth 
may  be  expressed  by  saying  that  the  fellows  were  the  in- 
tellect and  the  trustees  the  will;  but,  even  so,  the  will  was 
to  elect  the  president,  who  would  presumably  be  the  most 
powerful  intellectual  as  well  as  volitional  force.  That  the 
intellect  should  have  been  placed  under  the  control  of  the 
Congregationalists  is  not  hard  to  explain :  they  were  the 
most  intellectual  and  best  educated  religious  body  in  New 
England,  and  could  most  easily  furnish  men  qualified  to  be 
fellows  of  a  college.  Even  in  this  provision  it  is  more  than 
credible  that  Dr.  Stiles  thought  he  was  doing  the  best  thing 
for  the  projected  institution  —  and  that  without  "jockey- 
ing" the  Baptists  out  of  their  college. 

The  facts,  taken  all  together,  seem  to  warrant  the  fol- 
lowing view :  The  leading  Baptists  in  Newport,  true  to 
the  liberal  atmosphere  of  the  place,  under  the  immediate 
influence  of  Dr.  Stiles,  agreed  to  the  charter  which  he 
presented  at  their  request,  thinking  that,  while  it  granted 
the  Congregational  body  more  pow  er  than  the  Philadelphia 
Baptists  had  perhaps  anticipated,  it  preserved  the  main 
point  of  giving  the  Baptists  ultimate  control,  and  would  at 
the  same  time  win  more  general  support  from  the  best  edu- 
cated men  in  the  colony  and  neighboring  colonies.  This  lib- 
eral charter  was  presented  to  the  Assembly  by  many  peti- 
tioners of  various  denominations;^  but  being  held  up  by 
a  Providence  Baptist  who  had  not  been  present  at  the  ori- 
ginal conference,  and  M^ho,  although  a  most  respected  citi- 

by  the  otlier  Branch.  .  .  .  These  articles  were  xirtually  agreed  to  as  tlie 
Foundation  of  the  Charter  which  was  draughted,  conformably  thereto,  and 
as  tlie  Cement  of  our  Coalition." 

'Of  44  whose  religious  affiliations  have  been  ascertained  by  the  Rev.  A.  W. 
Smith,  20  were  Baptists,  11  Congregationalists,  4  Quakers,  and  9  Episco- 
palians. 

C    2+    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

zen,  was  more  narrowly  sectarian  and  perhaps  somewhat 
influenced  by  the  bitter  rivalry  between  Providence  and 
Newport,  the  document  became  the  center  of  a  heated  de- 
bate that  stirred  up  sectarian  prejudice  on  both  sides.  The 
final  result  was  a  charter  which, although  still  very  liberal, 
was  more  strongly  Baptist  than  the  first  draft  had  been. 

This  view"  is  plainly  not  altogether  consistent  w  ith  the 
narratives  by  President  Manning  and  Mr.  Jenckes.  But 
these  narratives  —  as  has  already  been  implied  —  are  them- 
selves not  altogether  consistent  with  the  facts  of  the  case  as 
a  whole.  Both  bear  marks  of  sectarian  bias,  natural  enough 
at  a  period  when  feeling  between  Baptists  and  Congre- 
gationalists  was  running  high,  but  not  favorable  to  a  just 
statement  or  interpretation  of  facts.  Manning's  account  of 
the  contest  appears  on  its  face  to  be  wholly  second-hand ; 
it  is  quite  unlikely  that  he  was  in  Newport  at  the  time,  hav- 
ing recently  sailed  for  Nova  Scotia.  Mr.  Jenckes  narrates 
transactions  in  which  he  was  a  prime  agent,  but  appar- 
ently he  was  writing  eight  years  after  the  e\'ent,  when  he 
might  easily  have  over-colored  some  details.  What  he  says 
about  the  indignation  of  Governor  L^mdon  and  Colonel 
Bennet  at  Dr.  Stiles's  supposed  trick  is  particularly  hard 
to  reconcile  with  their  subsequent  friendship  with  Stiles 
and  the  esteem  of  other  Baptist  leaders  for  him.  But  even 
if  they  thought  at  first  that  he  had  deceived  them,  it  does 
not  follow  that  their  opinion  was  justified;  it  merely  shows 
that  the  charter  which  he  had  put  into  their  hands  to  read 
was  not  what  they,  through  blindness  or  heedlessness, 
thought  it  was.  It  is  noteworthy  that  Mr.  Jenckes's  own 
narrative  does  not  ascribe  to  Dr.  Stiles  the  remark  about 
his  having  given  timely  warning  and  not  being  the  rogue. 
But  even  if  credence  be  given  it,  the  case  against  Stiles  is 
rather  weaker  than  stronger :  the  giA'ing  of  timely  warning 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

acquits  him  of  intentional  deceit ;  and  therefore  ' '  rogue ' ' 
cannot  be  a  confession  of  trickery  by  himself  or  another, 
but  only  an  adoption — -perhaps  semi-jocose — of  the  ac- 
cuser's point  of  view.  The  utmost  that  can  be  safely  inferred 
from  the  narratives  of  Manning  and  Jenckes,  in  modifica- 
tion of  the  conclusion  already  reached,  is  that  the  Newport 
Baptists  assented  to  the  first  form  of  the  charter,  not  be- 
cause they  were  liberal  minded,  but  because  they  were  too 
stupid  or  too  careless  to  understand  its  provisions  when  it 
was  in  their  hands  —  a  view  which  seems  scarcely  reason- 
able. There  is  abundant  proof,  however,  that  when  the 
sectarian  fight  began,  the  Baptists  in  Newport  vigorously 
took  sides  for  the  charter  in  its  later  form,  for  of  the  221 
petitioners  for  it,  148  were  residents  of  Newport;  of  the 
62  petitioners  for  the  first  form,  25  also  petitioned  for  the 
second,  and  22  of  these  lived  in  Newport. 

Finally,  it  may  be  added  that  the  narratives  of  Manning 
and  Jenckes  did  not  escape  contemporary  criticism  by  one 
who  was  himself  a  Baptist,  though  not  a  church  mem- 
ber, David  Howell,  the  first  professor  in  the  college.  In  an 
unpublished  letter  to  Backus  (now  in  the  New  England 
Baptist  Library,  Boston),  dated  April  13,  1775,  he  says, 
commenting  on  the  manuscript  of  the  second  volume  of 
Backus's  history  of  the  Baptists:  "I  think  what  is  taken 
from  Mr  Edwards's  Book  about  the  Quarrel  in  geting  the 
Charter  ought  to  be  buried  in  oblivion  if  ever  we  wish  to 
engage  the  Presbyterians  in  the  Interest  of  the  College  & 
it  it  [=  is]  nothing  to  our  honor  or  advantage  but  rather 
disgracefull  to  Mr  Manning,  and  altogether  respects  the 
Conduct  Surmises  Suspicions,  &:c.  of  Individuals  whom 
it  is  not  our  Interest  to  offend  for  nothing.  ...  I  would  by 
no  means  have  Mr  Mannings  &  Jenckes  injudicious  ill- 
natured  reflections  in  your  History."  While  it  is  true  that 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Howell's  criticism  is  concerned  chiefly  with  the  imprudence 
of  publishing  such  statements  then,  there  is  also  a  plain  im- 
plication that  they  are  far  from  being  impartial  and  reliable 
accounts. 

Leaving  the  sectarian  contest  behind,  we  find  the  charter 
that  was  granted  for  the  new  Rhode  Island  college  an  aca- 
demic document  so  \\orthy  of  admiration  that  it  compels 
gratitude  to  the  man  who  drew  it.  With  the  exception  of  the 
changes  in  denominational  representation,  this  final  char- 
ter, under  which  Brown  University  has  lived  and  thrived 
for  a  century  and  a  half,  is  almost  wholly  the  work  of  Ezra 
Stiles,  aided,  as  he  said,  by  William  Ellery ;  although  it 
should  never  be  forgotten  that  Manning  in  his  "rough 
draught"  laid  the  foundation  for  liberal  representation  of 
"other  denominations."  Mr.  Ellery,  a  practicing  lawyer, 
later  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  probably 
supervised  the  instrument  chiefly  on  the  legal  side.  The  large 
outlines  and  most  of  the  phraseology  are  undoubtedly  due 
to  Dr.  Stiles,  who  was  exceptionally  fitted  for  the  work  by 
reason  of  his  law  studies,  his  experience  as  a  tutor  in  Yale, 
and  his  broad  scholarship.  It  is  hardly  possible,  however, 
that  even  a  man  so  well  qualified  could  have  produced  so 
long,  so  detailed,  and  so  wise  a  document  in  the  short  time 
that  seems  to  have  elapsed  between  the  application  to  him 
and  Manning's  departure  from  New  port.  As  he  actually  had 
beefi  planning  a  college,  it  is  likely  that  he  had  already  given 
thought  to  the  charter,  and  had  perhaps  made  a  written 
draft  of  it ;  his  friends  Lyndon  and  Bennet  may  even  have 
known  this  when  they  suggested  calling  upon  him  for  aid. 

A  man  with  so  wide  a  knowledge  and  so  keen  an  inter- 
est in  education  must  have  been  familiar  with  the  charters 
of  the  leading  American  colleges  of  his  time;  and  it  is  easy 
to  see  that  in  shaping  his  charter  he  was  influenced  by 

Z    27] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

existing  documents.  In  phrasing  there  is  Httle  similarity, 
except  in  the  conventional  legal  terms.  The  preamble,  with 
its  broad  view  of  the  scope  and  purpose  of  collegiate  edu- 
cation, has  a  few  points  of  likeness  to  the  charters  of  Yale 
and  New  Jersey  College.  The  Yale  charter  of  1701  speaks 
of  the  rearing  of  "  a  succession  of  Learned  &  Orthodox 
men"  as  the  main  purpose  of  the  college.  Dr.  Stiles  had 
in  mind  "a  Succession  of  Men  duly  qualify 'd  for  discharg- 
ing the  Offices  of  Life  with  usefulness  &  reputation" — lan- 
guage which  seems  to  owe  something  to  Milton's  famous 
sentence,  "I  call  therefore  a  complete  and  generous  edu- 
cation that  which  fits  a  man  to  perform  justly,  skilfully, 
and  magnanimously  all  the  offices,  both  private  and  public, 
of  peace  and  war."  The  Yale  charter,  however,  also  has  a 
phrase  about  fitting  youth  "for  Publick  employment  both 
in  Church  &  Civil  State."  The  clause  in  the  New  Jersey 
College  charter  of  1 748 ,  "  wherein  Youth  may  be  instructed 
in  the  learned  Languages,  and  in  the  liberal  Arts  and  Sci- 
ences," appears  in  the  Brown  charter  almost  unchanged 
except  for  the  significant  insertion  of  ' '  Vernacular ' '  before 
' '  Learned  Languages. "  ^  But  on  the  whole  the  language  in 
the  preamble,  and  in  the  noble  paragraph  barring  religious 
tests,  is  not  derived  from  any  other  source,  and  has  a  vigor 
and  largeness  seldom  found  in  legal  documents  of  this  class. 
The  main  outlines  of  the  charter  have  more  in  common 
with  other  college  charters  than  has  usually  been  recognized. 
The  division  of  the  Corporation  into  t^vo  bodies,  fellows 
and  trustees,  may  have  been  suggested  by  the  Harvard 
charter  of  1650,  with  its  fellows  and  overseers,  or  perhaps 
by  the  bicameral  legislatures  of  colonial  America.  The  legal 
powers  of  the  Corporation,  the  mode  of  electing  presidents, 

^  For  a  discussion  of  the  clause,  ' '  Tlie  Puljlic  teaching  shall  in  general  Re- 
spect the  Sciences,"  see  page  497. 

C    28    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

fellows,  trustees,  professors,  and  other  officers,  the  provi- 
sions about  discipline,  instruction,  granting  of  degrees,  etc. , 
are  much  like  those  in  the  charters  of  the  other  Ameri- 
can colleges.  The  exemption  of  "the  Estates  Persons  and 
Families  of  the  President  and  Professors,"  and  "  the  Per- 
sons of  the  Tutors  and  Students ' '  from  ' '  all  Taxes,  serving 
on  Juries  and  Menial  Services,"  is  taken,  with  a  few  verbal 
changes,  from  the  Yale  charter  of  1745.  The  chief  differ- 
ences are  in  the  provisions  regarding  denominational  con- 
trol and  religious  tests.  But  even  in  these  things  the  Rhode 
Island  charter  does  not,  as  many  have  thought,  stand  in 
complete  isolation. 

The  facts  about  religious  tests  for  students  in  other  col- 
leges have  been  stated  in  another  connection.  No  college 
charter  in  the  country  required  students  to  subscribe  to  any 
religious  creed  as  a  condition  of  becoming  members  of  the 
institution.  Some  charters,  as  those  of  Harvard  and  Yale, 
were  silent  on  the  point.  Others,  as  those  of  New  Jersey 
College  and  King's  College,  expressly  forbade  such  tests. 
The  Brown  charter,  therefore,  in  its  ringing  declaration  that 
"into  this  Liberal  &  Catholic  Institution  shall  never  be 
admitted  any  Religious  Tests,"  but  that  "Youths  of  all 
Religious  Denominations  shall  and  may  be  freely  admitted 
to  the  Equal  Advantages  Emoluments  &  Honors  of  the  Col- 
lege," was  not  establishing  a  precedent,  but  only  support- 
ing a  practice  already  established. 

The  case  is  somewhat  different  as  regards  religious  in- 
struction. At  Yale,  although  the  charter  did  not  require  that 
any  particular  creed  be  taught,  the  president  and  fellows 
in  1753  passed  a  resolution  of  fidelity  to  the  order  of  the 
founders  that  "the  Students  should  be  established  in  the 
Principles  of  Religion,  and  grounded  in  polemical  Divinity, 
according  to  the  yisseml)/i/''sCafec/usm,  .  .  .  and  that  special 

[    29   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Care  should  be  taken,  in  the  Education  of  Students,  not  to  suf- 
fer them  to  be  instructed  in  any  different  Principles  or  Doc- 
trines." The  laws  forbade  students  to  attend  religious  meet- 
ings other  than  Congregational  without  permission  of  the 
president;  but  "the  Sons  of  those,  who  profess  themselves 
to  be  Episcopalians,"  says  President  Clap,  in  his  history  of 
the  college  in  1766,  had  "Liberty  to  go  out  on  the  Lord's- 
Day ,  and  at  other  Times,  to  attend  on  the  Mode  of  Worship 
in  which  they  were  educated,  as  often  as  will  not  be  an  In- 
fraction on  the  general  Rules  of  Order  in  the  College."  All 
students  were  required  to  take  a  course  in  divinity,  which 
was  taught  by  a  professor  of  strict  orthodoxy.  At  Harvard 
all  juniors  and  seniors  were  required  to  attend  the  lectures 
on  divinity ;  and  the  professor  of  divinity  was  obliged  be- 
fore election  to  satisfy  the  Corporation  of  his  orthodoxy.  At 
King's  College,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  sectarian 
instruction  in  the  class-room.  The  liberal  spirit  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  last-named  institution  is  well  expressed  in 
the  following  words  of  President  Witherspoon  in  1772: 
"It  has  been  and  shall  be  our  care  to  use  every  means  in 
our  power  to  make  them  [?.<?.,  the  students]  good  men  and 
good  scholars;  and  if  this  be  the  case,  I  shall  hear  of  their 
future  character  and  usefulness  with  unfeigned  satisfaction, 
under  every  name  by  which  a  real  Protestant  can  be  distin- 
guished." It  is  thus  apparent  that  no  greater  freedom  was 
established  at  Brown  than  actually  prevailed  in  a  few  other 
colleges ;  but  the  Brown  charter  alone,  in  its  provision  that 
"Sectarian  differences  of  opinions,  shall  not  make  any  Part 
of  the  Public  and  Classical  Instruction,"  grounded  that 
freedom  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the  institution. 

Brown  University's  charter  was  also  more  liberal  than 
others  in  rejecting  religious  tests  for  members  of  the  Fac- 

1 30  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ulty  and  providing  definitely  for  broad  representation  on 
the  governing  board.  At  Harvard,  in  1738,  the  high-Cal- 
vinistic  members  of  the  board  of  overseers  who  attempted 
to  examine  into  the  theology  of  a  candidate  for  the  pro- 
fessorship of  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  were 
defeated;  but  in  the  following  year  the  overseers  refused 
to  approve  the  election  of  a  tutor  until  satisfied  of  his  or- 
thodoxy, because  he  had  to  conduct  religious  services  and 
give  religious  instruction.  These  tests  were  not  required  by 
the  charter,  nor  forbidden  by  it ;  nor  did  the  charter  specify 
the  religious  denominations  of  the  president,  fellows,  and 
overseers,  except  that  "  the  teaching  Elders  of  the  six  next 
adjoining  towns"  should  be  among  the  overseers,  but  as 
a  matter  of  fact  the  power  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Congre- 
gationalists.  The  Yale  charter  made  no  express  provision 
for  denominational  control  of  the  governing  board  or  the 
Faculty ;  yet  here,  too,  because  of  political  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal conditions,  the  Congregationalists  were  in  power.  The 
president  and  fellows  were  all  Congregational  clergymen ; 
and  the  president  was  elected  by  the  fellows,  who  were  self- 
perpetuating.  Furthermore,  at  a  meeting  of  the  president 
and  fellows  in  1753,  it  was  voted, ' '  That  every  Person  who 
shall  hereafter  be  chosen  a  President,  Fellow,  Professor  of 
Divinity,  or  Tutor,  in  this  College,  shall  before  he  enters 
upon  the  Execution  of  his  Office,  publickly  give  his  Con- 
sent to  the  said  Catechism  and  Confession  ofFaitJi^ ' '  i.e. ,  the 
W estminster  Assembly' s  Catechism  and  an  abridgment  of  the 
Westminster  Confession ;  and  this  rule  was  strictly  admin- 
istered for  many  years,  receiving  some  modification  in  1 778 , 
at  Dr.  Stiles's  instance,  when  he  became  president. 

In  several  other  colleges,  however,  the  conditions  were 
more  liberal.  The  charter  of  King's  College  specified  that 
the  president  should  be  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 

C   31    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

land,  and  the  governing  board  included  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  (empowered  to  act  by  proxy)  and  the  rector  of 
Trinity  Church ;  but  the  senior  minister  of  the  Reformed 
Protestant  Dutch  Church,  the  ministers  of  the  Ancient 
Lutheran  Church,  of  the  French  Church,  and  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Congregation,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  the  lieuten- 
ant-governor, the  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  and  other 
civil  officers,  were  ex  officio  members  of  the  board,  besides 
twenty-four  leading  men  of  the  city.  The  University  of 
Pennsylvania  was  characterized  by  the  same  union  of  Epis- 
copal control  with  a  liberal  spirit.  The  second  charter  of 
New  Jersey  College,  granted  in  1748,  imposed  no  denom- 
inational restrictions  in  the  choice  of  president  or  trustees. 
Eleven  of  the  original  trustees  under  this  charter  were  lay- 
men, and  twelve  were  Presbyterian  ministers ;  among  the 
laymen  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian,  Episcopal,  and 
Quaker  denominations. 

The  charter  of  Brown  University  admitted  no  ex  officio 
representatives  of  the  civil  power  to  its  governing  board ; 
but  in  this  respect  it  was  not  alone.  It  was  like  the  charter 
of  King's  College  in  providing  for  the  representation  of  de- 
nominations other  than  the  dominant  one,  but  exceeded  that 
in  the  relative  strength  allowed  them.  It  differed  from  the 
Harvard,  Yale,  and  New  Jersey  College  charters  in  expli- 
citly recognizing  denominations  and  openly  securing  the 
control  to  one ;  but  in  effect  it  was  much  broader  than  the 
charter  of  Yale,  in  which  only  one  denomination  had  power, 
and  also  broader  than  that  of  Harvard,  in  which  the  power 
was  divided  between  one  denomination  and  certain  civil 
officers,  most  of  whom  were  of  the  same  religious  body.  The 
charter  of  New  Jersey  College  allowed  all  the  power  to  be 
concentrated  in  one  denomination,  although  others  actually 
shared  it ;  the  Brown  charter  compelled  a  partition  of  power, 

C    32    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

and  on  a  more  ample  scale.  The  representatives  of  the  \  ari- 
ous  denominations  were  to  be  chosen  by  the  Corporation, 
not  by  the  denominations  themsehes,  and  might  be  either 
clergymen  or  lay  men.  The  outstanding  fact  is  that  the  instru- 
ment governing  Bro^^•n  University  recognized  more  broadly 
and  fundamentally  than  an}^  other  the  principle  of  denom- 
inational cooperation.  In  so  doing  it  Mas  true  to  the  best 
traditions  of  the  Baptist  denomination  and  of  the  colony ; 
and  it  was  also  wise  after  the  manner  of  this  world,  by 
thus  securing  broader  support  than  an  institution  controlled 
wholly  bv  one  sect  could  have  ^^•on. 


C    33    ] 


CHAPTER  11 
PRESIDENT  MANNING'S  ADMINISTRATION 

EARLY   YEARS   AT  WARREN  :  THE  FIRST  COMMENCEMENT 
REMOVAL  TO  PROVIDENCE  I  THE  COLLEGE  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

THE  Struggle  over  the  charter  being  ended,  the  organ- 
ization of  the  college  proceeded  with  reasonable  speed. 
On  the  first  Wednesday  in  September,  1764,  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  Corporation  was  held  at  Newport,  when  twenty- 
four  of  those  named  in  the  charter  as  original  incorporators 
took  the  oath  of  office.  They  were  a  distinguished  company, 
including  some  of  the  best  known  men  of  the  colony.  The 
most  eminent  among  them  was  Stephen  Hopkins,  several 
times  governor,  afterwards  chief  justice  of  the  superior  court, 
a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress,  and  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence ;  in  November,  1764,  he  put 
forth  his  famous  pamphlet,  "The  Rights  of  Colonies  Ex- 
amined,' '  one  of  the  ablest  remonstrances  against  the  Stamp 
Act.  Samuel  Ward  was  Hopkins's  rival  for  the  governor- 
ship during  the  years  1758  to  1768,  being  three  times 
victorious;  he  was  governor  in  1765,  and  signed  the  col- 
lege charter,  which  for  some  reason  had  not  been  signed  by 
Hopkins  in  the  year  it  was  granted ;  he  also  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Continental  Congress.  Joseph  Wanton  and  Jo- 
sias  Lyndon  later  served  as  governors.  James  Honyman 
was  attorney-general  and  king's  advocate  for  the  court  of 
vice-admiralty  for  the  colony.  Job  Bennet  was  a  judge  of 
the  superior  court.  Joshua  Babcock,  a  judge  of  the  superior 
court  of  judicature,  in  1775  became  major-general  of  the 
Rhode  Island  militia.  Daniel  Jenckes  was  for  many  years 
a  member  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  chief  justice  of  a 
court  of  common  pleas.  Nicholas  Brown  was  a  prominent 
Providence  merchant,  father  of  the  Nicholas  Brown  from 

C   34  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

whom  the  college  later  took  its  name.  Edward  Upliani,  a 
Harvard  graduate,  was  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
Newport.  Jeremiah  Condy,  also  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  \\as 
a  Baptist  minister  in  Boston.  Thomas  Eyres  was  a  gradu- 
ate of  Yale  and  an  eminent  physician  in  Newport. 

Governor  Hopkins  was  chosen  chancellor  ;  John  Tilling- 
hast,  treasurer;  and  Dr.  Eyres,  secretary.^  The  first  need 
was  to  pro\ide  funds  for  the  new  institution ;  accordingly  a 
subscription-form  was  adopted,  and  sixty -nine  persons  liv- 
ing in  different  parts  of  the  country  (among  them  Benjamin 
Franklin)  were  authorized  to  receive  subscriptions.  Before 
adjourning,  the  Corporation  appointed  a  committee,  as  was 
often  done  thereafter,  to  transact  necessary  business  betw  een 
meetings.  No  officers  of  instruction  were  elected  at  this  first 
session  of  the  governing  board ;  that  would  hardly  have  been 
prudent  in  the  absence  of  funds  and  students. 

The  second  meeting  of  the  Corporation  was  held  in  New- 
port on  the  first  Wednesday  in  September,  1765  ;  twenty- 
five  members  were  present,  and  much  important  business 
was  done.  The  following  entries  on  the  records  have  pe- 
culiar interest :  "  A  Seal  for  the  College  A\"as  ordered  to  be 
procured  immediately  by  the  Reverend  Samuel  Stillman 
with  this  Device ;  Busts  of  the  King  and  Queen  in  Profile, 
Face  to  Face.  Underneath  George  III.  Charlotte.  Round 
the  Border,  The  Seal  of  the  College  in  the  Colony  of  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations  in  America."^  "Revd: 


^  From  the  beginning  the  fellows  and  the  trustees  sat  and  voted  together,  as 
appears  from  minutes  by  "M.  B."  of  a  Corpoi-ation  meeting  on  No\ember 
14,  1769:  "Mr:  Henry  Ward  .  .  .  m'ged  it  should  be  done  in  seperate  de- 
partments by  tlie  trustees  &  fellows  agreably  to  charter,  but  it  being  answered 
that  upon  that  principal  it  never  had  been  legally  fixed,  nor  no  otlier  business 
done  from  the  first  Authentic  as  the  corpoi-ation  had  always  acted  as  one  body, 
it  was  therefore  given  u])." 
^  See  page  520  for  an  imprint  of  this  seal. 

c  3.5 : 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

James  Manning  Mas  appointed  President  of  the  College, 
Professor  of  Languages  and  other  Branches  of  Learning 
\\ith  full  Power  to  act  in  those  Capacities  at  Warren  or  else- 
where." It  was  high  time  to  have  a  president  and  faculty, 
for  already  a  student  body  existed.  On  the  day  before, 
William  Rogers,  a  Newport  lad  of  fourteen  years,  had  ma- 
triculated in  Rhode  Island  College ;  and  for  more  than  nine 
months  he  was  the  only  student. 

The  Rev.  James  Manning  was  a  remarkable  man,  and 
peculiarly  fitted  to  be  the  first  president  of  the  college.  He 
was  born  October  22,  1738,  in  Piscataway,  New  Jersey, 
originally  a  part  of  the  Elizabethtown  grant.  His  parents,  of 
the  farming  class,  were  descended  from  early  settlers  in  the 
region.  After  two  years  in  Hopewell  Academy,  he  entered 
NeM'  Jersey  College  in  1758,  and  four  years  later  graduated 
second  in  a  class  of  twenty-one.  In  1763  he  was  ordained 
as  a  Baptist  minister;  and  in  April,  1764,  he  settled  in 
the  town  of  Warren,  Rhode  Island,  some  ten  miles  from 
Providence,  where  he  opened  a  Latin  school  and  became 
the  first  pastor  of  a  Baptist  church,  organized  in  Novem- 
ber, 1764,  an  offshoot  from  the  venerable  church  in  Swan- 
sea. When  the  Baptists  of  the  Middle  States,  in  planning 
for  a  college,  chose  Manning  as  leader  in  the  enterprise,  it 
is  probable  that  they  were  influenced  in  part  by  his  person 
as  well  as  by  his  scholarship  and  character.  In  later  life 
weighing  upwards  of  three  hundred  pounds,  he  must  even 
at  twenty-four  have  had  an  impressive  presence.  "In  his 
Youth,"  wrote  Howell,  "he  was  remarkable  for  his  Dex- 
terity in  athletic  Exercises,  for  the  Symmetry  of  his  Body, 
and  Gracefulness  of  his  Person."  It  is  clear  that  he  found 
favor  upon  his  first  entry  into  the  cultivated  Newport  circle, 
stranger  as  he  was ;  and  he  seems  to  have  had  no  rival  for 
the  presidency. 

C   36   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

The  college  was  now  launched,  but  for  several  years  its 
progress  was  slow.  A  "Matriculation  Roll,"  in  Manning's 
hand,  shows  that  in  1766  five  new  students  were  enrolled; 
in  1767,  four;  in  1768,  eight;  and  in  1769,  eleven.  Of  the 
twenty-nine  enrolled  from  the  beginning  only  eleven  lived 
in  Rhode  Island,  two  of  them  coming  from  Newport  and 
four  from  Providence ;  the  other  eighteen  lived  in  Connect- 
icut, Massachusetts,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Penn- 
sylvania. The  second  student,  Richard  Stites,  who  entered 
June  20,  1766,  was  the  President's  brother-in-law.  The 
students  of  both  Latin  school  and  college  met  in  the  War- 
ren parsonage,  which  was  built  in  1765-67  partly  for  their 
use,  as  appears  from  the  following  item  in  The  Newport 
Mercury  for  September  28  to  October  5,  1767: 

SCHEME  OF  A  LOTTERY,  Granted  by  the  General  Assem- 
blv  of  the  Colonv  oi  Rhode- Island^  £sfr.  for  raising  £.\5Q  Lawful 
Money,^  to  be  applied  towards  finishing  the  Parsonage  House  be- 
longing to  the  Baptist  Church  in  JVarrefi^  and  rendering  it  commodi- 
ous for  the  Reception  of  the  Pupils,  who  are,  or  shall  be,  placed  there 
for  a  liberal  Education.  .  .  .  It  is  hoped  that  the  extraordinaiyExpence 
of  that  infant  Society,  in  building  a  new  Meeting- House,  and  Parson- 
age House,  as  far  as  the  Building  is  ad\'anced,  together  with  the  imme- 
diate Necessit\^  of  Room  for  the  Pupils  under  the  Care  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Manning'^  and  the  great  Encouragement  for  the  Adventurers,  there 
being  but  little  better  than  two  Blanks  to  a  Prize,  will  induce  those  who 
wish  well  to  the  Design,  speedil}'  to  purchase  the  Tickets. 

Further  evidence  is  afforded  by  a  bill,  dated  April  18,  1768, 
for  work  done  on  "the  Parsnig  house,"  including  "the 
CoUeg  Chamber." 

The  growing  number  of  pupils  made  an  assistant  teacher 
necessary;  and  in  the  records  of  the  Corporation's  meet- 
ing at  Newport  in  September,  1767,  is  the  entry,  "The 

1  A  pound  in  "lawful  money"  was  worth  $3.33^. 

[  37 : 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Reverend  President  Manning's  Conduct  for  the  Year  past, 
and  his  engaging  Mr.  David  Howell  a  Tutor  of  the  College 
is  approved  of."  The  next  year  Mr.  Howell  was  formally 
elected  tutor  at  a  "  Salary  of  Seventy  two  Pounds  Lawful 
Money, ' '  and  was  ' '  authorized  to  collect  the  Tuition  Money 
as  it  became  due  as  part  of  his  Salary  " ;  in  1769  he  was 
appointed  professor  of  natural  philosophy.  Mr.  Howell  was 
born  in  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  in  1747;  he  graduated 
from  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  1766,  and  soon  after 
came  to  Warren  at  President  Manning's  suggestion.  His 
connection  with  the  college  was  long  and  various.  He  was 
professor  of  law  from  1790  to  1824,  but  gave  no  instruc- 
tion. In  1773,  while  holding  a  professorship,  he  was  elected 
a  fellow,  and  retained  the  position  until  his  death,  in  1824. 
He  was  secretary  of  the  Corporation  from  1780  to  1806, 
and  president  ad  mteiini  in  1791-92.  He  also  received  high 
honors  in  civil  life,  being  a  member  of  Congress  under 
the  Confederation,  associate  justice  of  the  supreme  court 
of  Rhode  Island,  attorney-general,  United  States  district 
judge,  and  by  appointment  of  President  Washington  one 
of  the  commissioners,  under  the  Jay  treaty  of  1794,  to  de- 
termine the  true  St,  Croix  River  as  a  part  of  our  north- 
ern boundary.  The  college  was  fortunate  in  the  intellectual 
caliber  of  its  first  tutor  and  professor. 

The  expenses  of  the  institution  were  as  yet  small,  the 
tutor  receiving  but  $240  a  year,  and  the  president  having 
no  salary  at  all.  But  continuance  and  future  growth  would 
be  impossible  without  an  endowment.  A  beginning  had  been 
made  by  the  Corporation  itself,  at  the  meeting  in  1765, 
when  $1992  was  subscribed  by  the  members  present.  At 
a  meeting  on  November  20,  1766,  the  Rev.  Morgan  Ed- 
wards was  "requested  &  duely  authoriz'd  to  go  to  Europe 
&  solicit  Benefactions  for  this  Institution."  Mr.  Edwards 

C   38   3 


I 


HISTORY  OF  BKOWN  UNIVERSITY 

spent  about  a  year  and  a  half  in  Great  Britain,  returning  in 
the  latter  part  of  1768,  and  collected  £888  10'  2^^  sterling 
(or  about  $4300),  of  which  nearly  one-fourth  came  from 
Ireland,  where  he  had  first  been  a  pastor.  His  subscription 
book,  still  in  the  archives  of  the  university,  is  of  singular 
interest.  Here  may  be  seen  the  signatures  of  famous  men 
— Benjamin  Franklin,  Thomas  Penn,  Rev.  Dr.  Stennet, 
and  others,  —  who  gave  sums  ranging  from  £10  to  £20  ; 
and  on  the  same  time-stained  pages  the  names  of  obscure 
men  and  women  —  Benjamin  Boon,  Sarah  Burdock,  John 
Fury,  Susanna  Ferguson,  and  others  —  who  out  of  their 
poverty  gave  their  one  shilling  or  two  shillings  sixpence,  to 
aid  the  cause  of  education  in  a  distant  college  from  which 
they  could  never  expect  to  receive  any  personal  benefit.  It  is 
worthy  of  note,. too,  that  three  Presbyterian  churches  in  Bel- 
fast and  one  in  Ballymony  contributed  over  £30  to  "this 
Liberal  &  Catholic  Institution."  An  extract  from  Edwards's 
letter  to  Manning,  dated  London,  April  26,  1768,  will  give 
some  idea  of  the  difficulty  of  his  task  and  also  of  his  ardent 
and  vigorous  nature : 

There  have  been  no  less  than  six  cases  of  charity  pushed  about  town 
this  winter.  .  .  .  The  unwearied  beneficence  of  the  cit}^  of  London  is 
amasing !  Your  news  papei-s,  and  letters  from  your  goxernment,  pub- 
lished in  other  papers,  have  hurt  me  much — You  boast  of  the  man\- 
yards  ef  cloth  you  manufacture  &c.  This  raises  the  indignation  of  the 
merchants  and  manufacturers — I  have  been  not  onh'  denyed  by 
hundreds,  but  also  absused  on  that  score — My  patience,  my  feet, 
and  my  assurance  are  much  impaired — I  took  a  cold  in  November, 
which  stuck  to  me  all  winter,  owing  to  my  trampoosing  the  streets  in 
all  weathers. 

In  1769  and  1770  the  Rev.  Hezekiah  Smith  was  sent  on 
a  similar  mission  through  the  Southern  States,  and  collected 
sums  amounting  to  about  $1700. 

c  39 : 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Meanwhile,  in  the  face  of  all  difficulties,  the  work  of 
instruction  went  forward,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1769  a 
class  of  seven  was  ready  for  graduation.  At  the  meeting  of 
the  Corporation  held  in  Warren  on  Wednesday,  September 
6,  it  was  voted,  "That  the  Meeting-House  in  Warren  be 
fitted  up  at  the  charge  of  the  Corporation,  in  the  best  man- 
ner the  shortness  of  time  will  admit,  for  the  reception  of  the 
people  Tomorrow,  the  day  of  Commencement. "  The  meet- 
ing-house was  the  new  Baptist  church,  a  plain  wooden 
building,  sixty-one  feet  by  forty-four,  with  a  hip-roof  and 
a  tower,  and  furnished  with  galleries.  Here  was  held  the 
first  Commencement  of  Rhode  Island  College ;  and  in  spite 
of  crude  surroundings  the  occasion  was  a  dignified  and 
memorable  one.  So  far  had  interest  spread  in  the  Baptist 
denomination  that  tradition  says  a  company  of  Baptist 
preachers  from  Georgia  rode  over  a  month  on  horseback 
to  be  there.  The  events  of  the  day  M^ere  thus  described  in 
The  Newport  Mercury  of  September  11,  1769  : 

On  Thursday  the  7th  Instant  was  celebrated,  at  Warren,  the  first 
Commencement  in  the  College  of  this  Colony,  when  the  following 
young  Gentlemen  commenced  Bachelors  in  the  Arts;  viz.  Joseph 
Belton,  Joseph  Eaton,  William  Rogers,  Richard  Stites, 
Charles  Thompson,  James  Mitchel  Varnum,  and  William 
Williams. 

About  10  o'clock  A.M.  the  Gentlemen  concerned  in  conducting 
the  Affairs  of  the  College,  together  with  the  Candidates,  went  in 
Procession  to  the  Meeting-House. 

After  they  had  taken  their  Seats,  and  the  Audience  were  com- 
posed, the  President  introduced  the  Business  of  the  Day  with  Prayer; 
then  followed  a  salutatory  Oration  in  Latin,  pronounced  with  much 
Spirit,  by  Mr.  Stites  ;  which  procured  him  great  Applause  from  the 
learned  Part  of  the  Assembly.  He  spoke  vipon  the  Ad\antages  of  Lib- 
erty and  Learning,  and  their  mutual  Dependence  upon  each  other, 
concluding  with  proper  Salutations  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  College, 
and  to  the  Governor  of  the  Colony,  &c.  particularly  expressing  the 

[40] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Gratitude  of  all  the  Friends  of  the  College  to  the  Rev.  Morgan  Ed- 
wards, who  has  encountered  man\-  Difficulties  in  going  to  Eurojje 
to  collect  Donations  for  the  Institution,  and  lately  returned. 

To  which  succeeded  a  forensic  Dispute  in  English,  on  the  fol- 
lowing Thesis,  viz.  "TTzf  Americans^  in  their  pre.se/it  Circumstancefi^ 
cannot^  consistent  xuith  good  Polici/^  affect  to  become  an  independent 
State.''''  Mr.  Varnum  ingeniouslv  defended  it  by  cogent  Arguments, 
handsomely  dressed,  though  he  was  suljtilely,  but  delicateh',  opposed 
by  Mr.  Williams;  both  of  whom  spoke  with  much  Emphasis  and 
Propriety. 

As  a  Conclusion  to  the  Exercises  of  the  Forenoon,  the  Audience 
were  agreeably  entertained  with  an  Oration  on  Benevolence.,  b\'  Mr. 
Rogers;  in  which,  among  many  other  pertinent  Observations,  he 
particularly  noticed  how  greatl}'  that  infant  Seminar}^  stands  in  Need 
of  the  salutary  Effects  of  that  truly  christian  Virtue. 

At  3  o^ Clock,  P.M.  the  Audience  being  again  convened,  a  s^'llo- 
gistic  Dispute  was  introduced  on  this  Thesis,  ''''Materia  cogitare  non 
/7(5?es?.'"  Mr.  Williams  the  Respondent,  Messieurs  Bei.ton,  Eaton, 
Rogers  and  Varnum,  the  Opponents:  In  the  course  of  which  Dis- 
pute the  principal  Arguments  on  both  Sides  were  produced,  towards 
settling  that  critical  Point. 

After  which  the  Degree  of  Bachelor  of  Aits  was  conferred  on  the 
Candidates. 

Then  the  following  Gentlemen,  (graduated  in  other  Colleges)  at 
their  own  Request,  received  the  honorary  Degree  of  Master  in  the 
Arts,  viz.  Rev.  Edward  Upham,  Rev.  Morgan  Edwards,  Rev. 
Samuel  Stillman,  Rev.  Hezekiah  Smith,  Rev.  Samuel  Jones, 
Rev.  John  Davis,  Hon.  Joseph  Wanton,  jun.  Esq;  Mr.  Robert 
Strettle  Jones,  Mr.  Jabez  Bowen,  Mr.  David  Howell  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Philosophy  in  said  College. 

The  following  Gentlemen,  being  well  recommended  to  the  Fac- 
ult\"  for  literary  Merit,  had  conferred  on  them  the  honoraiy  Degree 
of  Master  in  the  Arts,  viz.  Rev.  Abel  Morgan,  Rev.  Oliver  Hart, 
Rev.  David  Thomas,  Mr.  John  Stites,  Rev.  James  Brvson,  Rev. 
James  Edwards,  Rev.  William  Boulton,  Rev.  John  Ryland,  Rev. 
William  Clark,  Rev.  Joshua  Toulmin,  Rev.  Caleb  Evans. 

A  concise,  pertinent  and  solemn  Charge  was  then  given  to  the 
Bachelors,  by  the  President,  concluding  with  his  kist  paternal  Bene- 

I  41    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

diction;  which  naturally  introduced  the  valedictory^  Orator,  Mr. 
Thompson  ;  who,  after  some  Remarks  on  the  Excellencies  of  the  ora- 
torial  Art,  and  Expressions  of  Gratitude  to  the  Patrons  and  Offi- 
cers of  the  College,  together  with  a  Valediction  to  them  and  all  pres- 
ent, took  a  most  affectionate  Leave  of  his  Classmates. — The  Scene 
was  tender — the  Subject  felt — and  the  Audience  affected. 

The  President  concluded  the  Exercises  with  Prayer. 

The  whole  was  conducted  with  a  Propriety  and  Solemnity  suita- 
ble to  the  Occasion:  The  Audience  (consisting  of  most  of  the  princi- 
pal Gentlemen  and  Ladies  of  this  Colon}',  and  many  from  the  neigh- 
bouring Governments)  tho'  large  and  crouded,  behaved  with  the 
utmost  Decorum. 

In  the  Evening  the  Rev'd.  Morgan  Edwards,  by  particular  Re- 
quest, preached  a  Sermon,  peculiarly  addressed  to  the  Graduates  and 
Students,  from  Philippians  iii,  8 . "  Tea  doubtless^  and  I  count  all  Things 
but  Loss^  for  the  Excellency  of  the  Knoxvledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my 
Lord:''"'  In  which,  (after  high  "Encomiums  on  the  liberal  Arts  and 
Sciences)  the  superior  Excellence  of  the  Knoxvledge  of  Christy  or  the 
Christian  Science^  was  clearly  and  frilly  illustrated  in  several  striking 
examples,  and  Similes;  One  of  which  follows:  "When  the  Sun  is 
"below  the  Horizon,  the  Stars  excel  in  Glory;  but  when  his  Orb  irra- 
"diates  our  Hemisphere,  their  Glory  dwindles,  fades  away,  and  dis- 
"  appears." 

The  President  and  all  the  Candidates  were  dressed  in  American 
Manufactures. 

Finally,  be  it  observed,  That  this  Class  are  the  first  Sons  of  that 
College  which  has  existed  only  four  Years;  during  all  which  Time 
it  laboured  under  great  Disadvantages,  notwithstanding  the  warm 
Patronage  and  Encouragement  of  many  worthy  Gentlemen  of  For- 
tune and  Benevolence:  But  it  is  hoped,  from  the  Disposition  which 
many  discovered  on  that  Day,  and  other  favourable  Circumstances, 
that  these  Disadvantages  will  soon  be  happily  removed. 

The  close  sympathy  of  the  college  with  the  political  feel- 
ing of  the  time  is  shown  not  only  by  the  fact  that  "the 
President  and  all  the  Candidates ' '  wore  clothes  of  Amer- 
ican manufacture  (as  the  graduating  class  at  Harvard  had 
done  the  year  before),  in  protest  against  the  unjust  trade 

[   42   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

laws  of  Great  Britain,  but  still  more  by  the  discussion  of 
American  independence,  \\  hich  \\  as  the  i)rincipa!  feature 
of  the  morning.  This  debate  l^reathed  the  same  spirit  that 
had  stubbornly  resisted  the  Stamp  Act  and  was  soon  to  burst 
out  in  the  Boston  Tea  Party  and  the  burning  of  the  Gas- 
pee.  Varnum,  the  "respondent,"  or  speaker  in  the  affirm- 
ative, although  he  opposed  the  attempt  to  set  up  an  inde- 
pendent state,  yet  condemned  imsparingly  the  course  of 
the  British  government.  "  Had  British  America,"  he  said,  ' 
"been  left  to  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  those  privileges, 
which  it  could  boast  of  in  former  reigns,  the  most  romantic 
genius,  in  its  wildest  excursions,  had  not  dreamt  of  inde- 
pendence. But  the  late  alarming  attacks  of  the  parent  state 
upon  American  freedom,  .  .  .  has,  with  justice,  roused  the 
advocates  of  American  liberty  to  the  most  vigorous  ex- 
ertions, in  defence  of  our  rights."  Williams,  the  "oppo- 
nent, ' '  was  yet  bolder :  ' '  Let  not  the  menaces  of  a  British 
Parliament,  in  the  least  affright,  nor  their  fair  promises  de- 
ceive you,  into  any  base  compliances.  Latet  anguis  in  herha. 
Their  evident  design  is  to  make  us  slaves.  They  are  wrest- 
ing our  money  from  us  a\  ithout  our  consent.  Do  not  be 
charmed  by  the  fascinating  sounds,  Parent-State,  Mother- 
Country,  Indulgent-Parent,  &c.  .  .  .  Their  menaces  might 
terrify  and  Subjugate  Servile  timid  Asiatics,  who  peace- 
ably prostrate  their  necks  to  be  trampled  on  by  every  bold 
usurper.  But  my  auditors,  you  have  not  so  learned  the  prin- 
ciples of  liberty.  .  .  .  My  point  is  gained;  your  counte- 
nances indicate  the  patriotic  feelings  of  your  breasts,  and 
with  one  voice  you  declare,  that  America  Shall  be  free." 
On  this  Commencement  Day,  1769,  the  Corporation  at- 
tempted to  settle  upon  a  permanent  home  for  the  college. 
A  meeting  was  held  at  seven  in  the  morning,  and  a  com- 
mittee that  had  been  appointed  the  year  before  reported  in 

C   43   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

favor  of  Biistol  County,  in  which  Warren  is  situated ;  the 
Corporation  accepted  the  report,  and  appointed  a  new  com- 
mittee to  select  and  buy  a  site,  put  up  a  building,  and 
solicit  subscriptions.  This  vigorous  action,  aided  no  doubt 
by  the  success  of  the  first  Commencement,  woke  up  the  col- 
ony, and  a  very  pretty  fight  ensued.  Almost  immediately  a 
\oice  was  heard  from  the  County  of  Kent,  across  the  bay, 
where  a  subscription  for  endowing  the  college  had  been 
opened,  asking  that  a  special  meeting  of  the  Corporation 
be  called  to  reconsider  the  vote  in  favor  of  Bristol  County. 
This  meeting  was  held  in  the  court-house  at  Ne\\'port 
during  three  days,  November  14-16,  and  lively  days  they 
proved,  for  Newport  and  Providence  had  now  entered  the 
lists.  It  is  not  known  what  arguments  were  advanced  on 
behalf  of  Warren ;  but  the  Bapdst  church  there  voted  on 
November  13  that  "the  Baptis  meeting  House  in  sd  Town 
be  and  is :  for  the  Use  of  the  Corporation  &  President  at 
commencement  times  :  .  .  .  Provided  the  College  Edifice  be 
founded  &  Built  in  the  County  of  Bristol, ' '  and  that ' '  the  Par- 
sonage House  ...  be  for  the  use  of  the  President :  So  Long 
as  he  the  President  be  our  Minister."  The  committee  from 
East  Greenwich,  in  the  County  of  Kent,  urged  its  pleasant 
site  and  central  location,  which  would  secure  the  support 
of  the  whole  colony  ;  they  also  argued  that  Providence  was 
too  large,  "As  Institutions  of  this  kind  have  been  found  by 
Experience  not  to  prosper  in  popular  Towns,"  whereas  East 
Greenwich  was  ' '  Large  enough  to  accomodate  the  Students 
eiffectually,  .  .  .  There  being  likewise  a  post  ofiice  in  the 
Town,"  besides  a  Quaker  and  a  Baptist  meeting-house, 
and  a  Separatist  church  only  three  miles  away,  "upon  a 
Good  road  free  from  ferries."  The  memorial  from  New- 
port has  not  been  preserved,  but  an  article  in  The  New- 
port Mercury  of  November  20  doubtless  reproduces  some 

C  44 ;] 


\ 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  the  main  points.  The  m  riter  speaks  of  "  the  Number  of 
Inhabitants  in  Newport,  the  Reputation  of  the  Island  for 
Heakh  and  Pleasantness,  the  easy  Communication  we  have 
with  all  Parts  of  this  Government,  and  with  the  Western 
and  Southern  Colonies,  and  the  Cheapness  \\  ith  which 
Pupils  may  be  boarded,"  and  also  of  the  scholarly  Red- 
wood Library, ' '  the  Use  of  \\hich  may  be  allowed  the  Pupils 
under  the  discreet  Care  of  the  President  and  Tutors,"  The 
memorial  from  Providence,  signed  by  John  Cole,  Moses 
Brown,  and  HayM  ard  Smith,  is  a  long  document.  The  chief 
reasons  it  adduces  in  favor  of  locating  the  college  in  Provi- 
dence are  these :  a  large  sum  of  money  has  been  subscribed, 
nearly  $9000 ;  the  situation  is  central,  and  communica- 
tion easy ;  living  is  cheap ;  there  are  four  schoolhouses,  a 
public  library,  and  good  libraries  for  the  study  of  law  and 
medicine  ;  there  are  "  two  printing  offices  which  will  much 
cont[r]ibute  to  the  emolument  of  the  college,  the  [re]  being 
a  ^^•eekly  collection  of  the  interesting  inteligence  published 
which  will  not  only  assist  in  enlarging  the  mind  of  the  youth 
but  give  them  early  opportunity  of  displaying  their  genius 
in  all  useful  or  speculative  subject"  ;  and,  finally,  professors 
and  students  of  various  faiths  will  readily  attend  college 
in  Providence,  where  there  are  "places  of  public  worship  of 
all  the  various  denominations  of  Christians  in  America." 
The  Corporation,  besieged  in  this  fashion,  on  the  second 
day  rescinded  the  vote  in  favor  of  Bristol  County.  On  the 
third  day  it  passed  the  following  vote : 

Resolved.  —  That  the  place  for  erecting  the  College  Edifice  be  now 
fixed.  —  But  that  nevertheless  the  Committee  who  shall  be  appointed 
to  caiTV  on  the  Building  do  not  proceed  to  procure  any  other  Ma- 
terials for  the  same,  excepting  such  as  may  be  easily  transported  to 
any  other  place,  should  another  hereafter  be  thought  better,  untill 
fiirther  Orders  from  this  Corporation;  if  such  Orders  be  given  be- 

C   45   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

fore  the  first  day  of  January  next.  —  And  that  in  case  any  Subscrip- 
tion be  raised  in  the  County  of  Newport,  or  any  other  County,  equal 
or  Superior  to  any  now  offered;  or  that  shall  then  be  offered,  and 
the  Corporation  be  called  in  consequence  thereof,  that  then  the  Vote 
for  fixing  the  Edifice  shall  not  be  esteemed  binding;  but  so  that  the 
Corporation  may  fix  the  Edifice  in  another  place  in  case  they  shall 
think  proper. — Voted  —  That  the  College- Edifice  be  at  Providence. 

Here,  evidently,  was  not  an  ending  of  the  struggle,  but 
rather  a  skillful  incentive  to  fight  longer  and  put  up  larger 
stakes.  The  contest  was  now  practically  narrowed  to  Prov- 
idence and  Newport,  and  each  side  worked  actively  to  in- 
crease its  subscriptions.  At  first  the  former  was  in  the  lead  ; 
but  about  the  middle  of  January  there  appeared  in  the  Provi- 
dence and  Newport  newspapers  a  call  for  a  meeting  of  the 
Corporation  at  Warren  on  February  7,  because ' '  the  County 
of  Newport  hadi  raised  a  larger  Sum  than  any  that  hath  yet 
been  offered  to  the  Corporation  of  the  College  in  this  Col- 
ony." The  call  was  signed  by  three  of  the  fellows;  Presi- 
dent Manning  refused  to  join  in  it,  holding,  with  the  others 
who  favored  Providence,  that  the  time  for  reconsidering  the 
vote  had  expired  on  January  1 .  Failing  in  their  attempt  to 
prevent  the  calling  of  a  meeting,  the  Browns  and  other  lead- 
ers of  the  Providence  party  made  one  final  eifortto  strengthen 
their  side.  A  handbill  was  spread  through  the  town,  con- 
taining this  notice: 

Providence^  Monday^  February  5,  1770.  THE  Inhabitants  of  this 
Town  and  County  are  desired  to  meet  at  the  Court-House  THIS 
AFTERNOON,  at  Two  o'Clock,  to  hear  and  consider  of  some 
effectual  Plan  for  establishing  the  COLLEGE  here.  As  this  is  a 
Matter  of  the  greatest  Consequence,  and  the  Corporation  is  to  meet  on 
WEDNESDAY  next,  a  general  Attendance  is  earnestly  requested. 

A  large  number  attended  the  meedng ;  Stephen  Hopkins 
presided ;  and  a  committee  consisting  of  Moses  Brown  and 

C  46  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

severalother  prominent  citizens  was  appointed  to  take  charge 
of  the  subscriptions  and  present  them  to  the  Corporation. 

Two  days  later  the  various  forces  moved  to  Warren,  and 
the  final  contest  began.  The  attendance  was  large  for  a  spe- 
cial meeting,  seven  fello\\  s  and  twenty-eight  trustees  being 
present,  besides  the  representatives  of  the  rival  counties.  It 
was  now  generally  understood  that  the  choice  lay  between 
Newport  and  Providence;  but  East  Greenwich,  hoping 
that  she  might  still  be  made  happy  in  case  of  a  deadlock, 
presented  a  memorial,  signed  by  James  M.  Varnum,  of 
the  class  just  graduated,  Nathanael  Greene,  Jr.,  soon  to  be 
famous  as  the  greatest  general  of  the  war  next  to  Washing- 
ton, and  two  others.  The  memorialists  argue  again  "that 
a  Considerable  Degree  of  Retirement  is  very  Requisite  in 
Order  to  acquire  any  Great  Proficiency  in  literary  Pur- 
suits,' '  and  inquire, ' '  Is  there  Sufficient  Retirement  in  New- 
port or  Providence?  "  On  the  other  hand  they  are  sure  that 
there  is  more  than  sufficient  politics  in  either  place,  for  "It 
is  likewise  well  known  that  Newport  &  Providence  have  ever 
been  the  Capital  Sources  of  Party  in  this  Colony,  And  Con- 
sequently the  Institution  must  Annually  be  Subject  to  the 
Attacks  of  one  party  or  the  other  if  placed  in  either."  The 
Providence  faction  presented  a  memorial  protesting  that  the 
time-limit  for  reconsidering  the  vote  had  expired  when  the 
meeting  was  called,  and  that  even  then  Newport  had  not 
raised  so  large  a  sum  as  Providence.  There  is  no  record  of 
what  was  said  in  behalf  of  Newport  or  Warren. 

The  battle  raged  for  two  days,  from  10  a.m.  Wednesday 
till  10  p.m.  Thursday,  according  to  President  Manning  in 
a  letter  of  February  12;  and  he  adds,  "The  matter  was 
debated  with  great  Spirit,  &  before  a  Crouded  Audience." 
The  maneuvering  between  the  two  leading  contestants  is 
vividly  described  in  a  statement  by  Moses  Brown  dated  the 

C  47  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

day  after  adjournment;  the  latter  part  of  it  is  here  quoted, 
partly  as  a  picture  of  the  methods  of  men  in  colonial  days : 

At  length  Henry  Ward  took  me  out  towards  the  door  and  declared 
there  was  all  they  had  and  that  they  had  no  Orders  to  go  any  higher 
&  proposed  if  we  would  not  lodge  any  further  subscriptions  they 
would  lav  down  their  papers  &  proceed  to  Trial  accordingly,  we 
agreed  Wm:  Ellerj"  then  lodged  the  papers  before  held  and  would 
not  deliver  to  any  body,  being  one  bond  for  150^  L.  Money  & 
one  other  for  ;^300,  when  we  came  to  foot  our  sums,  we  had  about 
;^226  more  then  their's,  ours  being  £4175.  Here  upon  they  delayed 
by  many  e\'asions  proceeding  to  business  and  insisted  for  adjourn- 
ment, to  dinner,  after  which  the  meeting  met  and  after  waiting  ^ 
an  hour  Samuel  Ward,  Doct.  Babcock  H.  Ward  &c.  came  in  and 
presented  a  security  for  their  unconditional  Subscription  which  they 
said  was  £508:  14  and  a  Bond  for  500^  more.  All  this  time  no  sub- 
scriptions w^as  produced  they  alledging  they  had  left  them  at  home 
and  none  was  finally  produced-  By  this  last  bond  they  exceeded  our 
subscriptions  land  and  all  about  £585.  Whereupon  it  was  thought 
advisable  to  lodge  the  last  subscription  we  had  to  be  made  use  of 
upon  this  occasion  amounting  to  iJ^226  not  caring  to  Trust  the  Vote 
they  so  much  ahead  aspecially  as  they  insisted  that  our  unconditional 
subscriptions  ought  not  to  tell  any  thing,  whereby  they  would  be 
about  1235^  over  us,  this  reduced  it  so  that  reckoning  the  whole  of 
their  sum  and  the  whole  of  ours  they  were  158^^  more  than  we.  We 
presented  a  calculation  in  the  arguments  of  the  amount  of  the  build- 
ing if  at  Newport  more  than  Providence,  amounting  to  £574  L.  M. 
which  we  insisted  should  be  added  to  ours  which  leaves  a  ballance 
in  our  favour  of  £415. 

These  tactics  won  the  day,  the  Corporation  finally  voting : 

Whereas  the  Corporation  have  fully  heard  Committees  from  the 
Counties  of  Newport,  Kent  and  Bristol  upon  their  application  for 
a  repeal  of  the  Vote  of  this  Corporation  on  the  Sixteenth  day  of 
November  last  past  for  locateing  the  College  Edifice  in  the  Town  of 
Providence,  &  maturely  considered  the  several  Sums  offered,  and  all 
the  Arguments  used  by  all  the  parties  concerned,  and  thereupon  the 
Vote  being  put,  Recede,  or  Not,  It  passed  in  the  Negative,  Twentv- 

[  48   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

one  Votes  to  Fourteen :  It  is  therefore  Resolved  that  the  said  Edi- 
fice be  built  in  the  Town  of  Pro\ldence,  and  there  be  continued  for- 
ever. 

Contemporary  financial  statements  are  widely  at  variance, 
President  Manning  and  Chancellor  Hopkins  both  saying 
that  Newport's  subscription  did  not  exceed  that  of  Provi- 
dence, while  a  A\'riter  in  The  Nexvpoi-t  Mercury  of  Febru- 
ary 12,  1770,  who  attended  the  meeting,  says  it  \\'as  £600 
or  £700  larger.  But  the  figures  given  by  Moses  Brown,  who 
was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  agree  in  their  totals  with  the 
sums  entered  on  the  Corporation  records,  and  make  it  clear 
that  Providence  raised  less  money  than  her  rival.  Why, 
then,  was  she  given  the  prize?  The  Corporation  were  per- 
haps affected  by  her  association  with  the  founder  of  the  col- 
ony, by  the  zeal  she  had  shown  in  promptly  raising  so  large 
an  unconditional  subscription,  and  by  the  business  energy 
which  was  already  so  conspicuous  among  her  leading  men. 
A  stronger  motive  still  was  undoubtedly  the  religious  at- 
mosphere of  the  place,  where  the  Baptists  were  more  influ- 
ential than  in  Newport.  Manning,  in  the  letter  quoted  above, 
says  it  is  reported  that  the  eight  ministers  at  the  meeting 
"were  all  for  Providence,"  although  three  lived  in  New- 
port, and  he  adds  significantly,  "I  believe  the  Baptist  So- 
ciety in  General  are  not  displeased  at  ye  Determination." 
Leading  men  in  Newport,  however,  were  greatly  dissat- 
isfied with  the  result.  Manning's  letter  further  says  :  "You 
asked  me  in  your  last  whether  it  had  not  raised  a  Party  in 
the  Govt.  I  answer  no.  but  it  warmed  up  ye  old  one  some- 
thing considerable."  Some  of  this  warmth  broke  out  in  a 
communication  to  The  Neiv port  Alercury  oiYthru^iVY  12, 
which  accused  Providence  men  of  having  "for  20  years 
past,  ...  on  every  occasion,  manifested  the  most  inveterate 
malice  against  this  town  and  island,"  charged  the  Provi- 

C  49   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

dence  party  in  the  Corporation  meeting  with  bribery  and 
corruption,  and  called  the  President  "a  wolf  in  sheep's 
clothing."  A  more  dangerous  consequence  of  this  political, 
commercial,  and  perhaps  denominational  rivalry  was  an 
attempt  to  secure  a  charter  for  another  college.  Dr.  Stiles 
records  in  his  diary  on  February  23,  1770,  "Mr  Ellery 
came  to  discourse  about  the  Charter  of  another  College,  on 
the  plan  of  equal  Liberty  to  Congregationalists,  Baptists, 
Episcopalians,  Quakers."  On  April  5  he  notes,  "There  is 
now  depending  before  the  Gen.  Assembly  of  Rhode  Isld 
a  petition  for  a  Charter  for  a  College  here  in  Newport,  since 
the  first  Rh.  Isl'd  College  is  fixed  at  Providence."  The 
charter  passed  the  lower  house,  but  in  the  upper  house  it 
was  referred  to  the  next  session.  The  situation  was  alarm- 
ing. Rhode  Island  individualism  seemed  about  to  beget  col- 
leges as  freely  as  churches.  A  special  meeting  of  the  Cor- 
j:)oration  was  therefore  held  at  Warren,  and  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  draft  a  remonstrance  to  the  Assembly  against 
granting  another  college  charter.  A  very  able  document  was 
drawn  up  and  approved,  and  a  committee  of  influential  men 
presented  it  to  the  legislature.  Nothing  more  was  heard  of 
the  rival  charter. 

Newport,  then  as  now,  had  many  natural  advantages  as 
the  site  of  a  college ;  and  at  that  time  it  also  had  superiority 
in  numbers,  library  facilities,  and  general  culture.  But  the 
seeds  of  a  larger  growth  were  already  stirring  in  Provi- 
dence soil,  and  Time  at  least  has  justified  the  choice  of  the 
academic  Fathers. 

The  Providence  of  that  day  was  a  town  of  some  four 
thousand  inhabitants,  containing  about  four  hundred  houses, 
most  of  which  stood  near  the  water's  edge  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river,  or  rose  along  the  hill  to  Benefit  Street.  Great 
Bridge,  eighteen  feet  wide,  with  a  draw,  connected  the  east 

c  so : 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

side  with  Weybosset  Point,  to  the  north  and  west  of  which 
lay  Great  Salt  Cove,  while  to  the  south  ran  the  Provi- 
dence River,  then  much  m  ider  than  now,  and  fringed  w  ith 
wharves.  At  the  extremity  of  the  Point  stood  a  few  houses, 
reaching  to  the  intersection  of  Weybosset  Street  and  the 
newly  named  Westminster   Street.  On   the  former  were 
some  sixty-five  houses  ;  on  the  latter  only  six.  On  the  south 
side  of  Weybosset  Street,  not  far  from  where  it  joins  West- 
minster Street  again,  stood  Elder  Snow's  "New  Light" 
Congregationalist  meeting-house,  on  the  site  of  the  present 
"Round-Top"  church.  On  the  east  side  of  the  river  were 
four  meeting-houses — the  Baptist,  Episcopalian,  Friends', 
and  Congregationalist, —  and  the  principal  shops  and  pub- 
lic buildings.  The  narrow  streets,  with  their  swinging  shop- 
signs,  must  have  had  some  of  the  picturesqueness  which 
we  now  associate  with  Old  World  towns.  The  newspapers 
of  the  time  abound  in  advertisements  of  things  for  sale 
"next  Door  to  the  Sign  of  Shakespear's  Head,"  "at  the 
Sign  of  the  Black  Boy,"  "opposite  the  Golden  Eagle," 
"at  the  Sign  of  the  Elephant,"  etc.;  of  especial  interest 
to  the  modern  reader  is  the  announcement,  on  July  30, 
1763,  of  a  "new  Shop  called  the  Sultan,  at  the  Sign  of 
Mustapha,  ...  at  the  Corner  near  the  East  End  of  Wey- 
bosset Great  Bridge,"  for  this  was  probably  the  famous 
Turk's  Head,  later  moved  to  the  west  end  of  the  bridge. 
Old  World  customs,  too,  still  survived.  The  whipping- 
post stood  near  the  bridge,  and  was  not  a  mere  civic  orna- 
ment. There  was  still  imprisonment  for  debt.  Slavery  was 
accepted  as  a  matter  of  course  by  the  majority,  in  spite  of 
the  protests  of  the  Quakers  and  a  few  others.  The  Gazette 
of  May  5, 1764,  has  this  business-like  notice:  "To  be  sold 
for  no  Fault,  and  very  cheap  for  Cash ;  A  Likely  strong 
healthy  Negro  Girl,  about  14  Years  of  Age.  —  Inquire  of 

C   .-51    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  Printer."  Obadiah  Brown,  uncle  of  the  four  Brown 
brothers,  at  his  death  in  1762  left  five  slaves  valued  at 
£5400.  John  Brown,  for  twenty-one  years  treasurer  of  the 
college,  engaged  in  the  slave  trade;  and  Stephen  Hopkins, 
the  first  chancellor,  was  a  slave-owner. 

The  beginnings  of  intellectual  culture  existed.  No  free 
school  system  had  yet  been  established,  but  there  were  sev- 
eral private  schools,  and  the  children  of  the  well-to-do  were 
frequently  sent  away  to  famous  "seminaries"  elsewhere. 
There  were  some  good  private  libraries,  distinguished  for 
solidity  rather  than  size ;  and  a  public  subscription  library, 
founded  in  1753,  contained  in  1768  more  than  nine  hun- 
dred works,  the  use  of  which  was  offered  to  the  students 
when  the  college  came  to  Providence.  Books  were  sold  at 
Jenckes's  book-shop  and  elsewhere;  those  advertised  tes- 
tify to  religious  rather  than  to  literary  tastes,  although  such 
works  as  The  Spectator  and  Pamela  occasionally  appear  in 
the  lists.  The  Providence  Gazette ^stsivt^d  by  WilHam  God- 
dard  in  1762  and  taken  over  in  1768  by  John  Carter,  a 
pupil  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  was  one  of  the  best  of  the  colo- 
nial newspapers.  Even  before  the  coming  of  the  college 
the  town  was  not  wholly  destitute  of  lectures  on  learned 
subjects,  for  the  Gazette  of  March  3,  1764,  announced 
a  series  of  lectures  on  "that  instructive  and  entertaining 
Branch  of  natural  Philosophy,  call'd  Electricity"  :  the  first 
lecture  was  to  prove  "that  our  Bodies  contain  enough  of 
it,  at  all  Times,  to  set  an  House  on  Fire  "  ;  and  the  lecturer 
promised  to  show  that  ' '  the  endeavouring  to  guard  against 
Lightning  "  was  not  "chargeable  with  Presumption,  nor  in- 
consistent with  any  of  the  Principles  of  natural  or  revealed 
Religion." 

The  energies  of  the  citizens,  however,  were  directed 
chiefly  to  commerce  on  land  and  sea.  Bv  the  middle  of  the 

[   50 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

century  the  situation  of  Providence  at  the  head  of  naviga- 
tion had  won  it  the  trade  of  northern  Rhode  Island  and  ad- 
jacent parts  of  Massachusetts,  whence  products  were  sent 
to  be  exchanged  for  goods  imported  from  abroad.  The  river 
even  above  Weybosset  Point  was  then  deep  enough  to  float 
ocean-going  vessels ;  and  barks  lying  oflf  what  is  now  Steeple 
Street,  and  at  other  wharves  along  the  \\'ater-front,  took  on 
cargoes  of  lumber,  horses,  candles,  and  rum,  set  sail  for  the 
West  Indies  or  London,  and  returned  laden  with  slaves, 
sugar,  molasses,  and  European  wares  of  all  sorts.  Priva- 
teering during  the  French  and  Indian  War  had  also  been 
a  great  source  of  wealth.  At  the  period  when  Rhode  Island 
College  was  founded,  two  great  families,  the  Hopkinses  and 
the  Browns,  were  leaders  in  these  commercial  enterprises, 
and  both  were  closely  connected  with  the  early  fortunes  of 
the  college.  William  Hopkins  was  a  famous  merchant;  his 
brother  Esek,  after  years  of  service  in  command  of  mer- 
chant vessels,  became  commander-in-chief  of  the  first 
American  fleet ;  and  the  third  brother  was  Stephen,  the  first 
chancellor.  The  four  sons  of  James  Brown — Nicholas,  Jo- 
seph, John,  and  Moses  —  were  all  eminent  merchants ;  "by 
1760,"  says  Richman,  "the  family  were  operating  no  less 
than  eighty-four  sloops,  schooners,  and  brigantines."  They 
were  all  men  of  broad  outlook,  and  were  deeply  interested 
in  the  college. 

Into  this  community  the  president,  the  professor,  and  the 
students  of  Rhode  Island  College  came  in  May,  1770.  "On 
Dr.  Manning's  taking  up  his  abode  here,"  says  John  How- 
land  in  his  reminiscences,  "he  lived  in  the  old  house  of 
Benjamin  Bowen,  which  stood  on  the  lot  at  the  foot  of  Bowen 
street.  .  .  .  Mr.  Howell  was  unmarried,  and  boarded.  The 
students  boarded  in  private  families,  at  one  dollar  and  a 
quarter  per  week.  There  they  studied,  and  at  certain  hours 

[   53  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

met  in  one  of  the  chambers  of  the  old  brick  school  house, 
with  the  officers,  for  recitation."  The  schoolhouse  is  still 
standing,  near  the  lower  end  of  Meeting  Street ;  the  college 
exercises  were  held  in  the  upper  story.  The  change  from 
rural  Warren  to  a  bustling  town  seemed  likely,  at  first,  to 
fulfill  the  forebodings  of  the  memorialists  in  East  Green- 
wich, if  we  may  judge  by  the  following  passage  from  a 
letter  written  on  July  9  by  Theodore  Foster,  a  member  of 
the  senior  class : 

The  greatest  Degree  of  Steadiness  and  firmness  of  Mind  is  very 
requisite  in  a  Town  no  larger  than  this,  to  cause  one  as  steadily  to 
persue  his  Studies  as  in  a  Place  no  larger  than  Warren.  One  used 
to  Noise  and  the  Hurry  of  a  Tradeing  Town  would  not  be  much 
destui-bed  thereat,  but  for  my  own  Part  I  must  confess,  the  jolts 
of  Waggons,  the  Ratlings  of  Coaches,  the  ciying  of  Meat  for  the 
Market,  the  Hollowing  of  Negros  and  the  ten  thousand  jinggles 
and  Noises,  that  continually  Surround  us  in  e^-ery  Part  almost  of  the 
Town,  Confuse  my  thinking  and  leave  me  absorpt  in  a  Maze  of 
eddying  Fancy,  which  fi-equently  overwhelmes  me  in  the  profound 
Depths  of  Nonsense  even  while  engaged  in  the  Study  of  Moral 
Philosophy  which  teaches  the  proper  regulations  of  the  Passions. 

Meanwhile  the  committees  of  the  Corporation  had  been 
energetically  at  work  to  rescue  the  perturbed  students  by 
lifting  their  abode  as  soon  as  possible  ' '  above  the  smoke  and 
stir  of  this  dim  spot"  into  the  "regions  calm  of  mild  and 
serene  air  "  on  College  Hill.  On  February  17,  only  nine  days 
after  the  meeting  at  Warren  adjourned,  the  Building  Com- 
mittee, headed  by  Stephen  Hopkins,  John  Jenckes,  and  John 
Brown,  published  a  notice  in  The  Providence  Gazette  urging 
subscribers  to  arrange  at  once  to  furnish  timber  and  other 
materials, "  as  said  Building  will  begin  as  soon  as  may  be  in 
the  Spring. "  No  time  was  lost  indeed,  for  Solomon  Drowne, 
a  freshman,  recorded  in  his  diary  on  March  26,  "This  day 
the  Committee  for  settling  the  spot  for  the  College,  met 

C   54  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

at  the  New-Brick  School  House,  when  it  ^\  as  determined 
it  should  be  set  on  ye  Hill  opposite  Mr.  John  Jenkes ;  up 
the  Presb3'terian  Lane."  The  next  day  he  wrote,  "This 
day  they  began  to  dig  the  Cellar  for  the  College."  The  site 
chosen  embraced  about  eight  acres.  The  southern  half, 
which  was  sold  to  the  college  by  John  and  Moses  Brown 
for  $330,  had  formed  a  part  of  the  original  home  lots  of 
their  ancestor,  Chad  Brown,  and  of  George  Rickard,  who 
bought  them  from  the  Indians.  The  northern  half  cost  the 
college  $400 ;  one-third  of  this  had  originally  belonged  to 
Chad  Brown,  and  the  rest  to  Daniel  Abbott,  one  of  the  first 
settlers.  The  grounds  were  only  three  hundred  feet  wide, 
and  did  not  include  the  land  on  \v  hich  Hope  College  and 
Rhode  Island  Hall  now^  stand.  Presbyterian  Lane  (now  Col- 
lege Street)  was  so  named  because  it  ran  by  the  Presby- 
terian, or  Congregational,  church  on  Benefit  Street,  where 
the  court-house  now  is.  The  site  of  the  college  was  described 
by  Morgan  Edwards,  in  1771,  as  "commanding  a  pros- 
pect of  the  town  of  Providence  below,  of  the  Narraganset 
bay  and  the  islands  and  of  an  extensive  country,  variegated 
with  hills  and  dales,  woods,  and  plains."  "Surely,"  he 
adds,  "this  spot  was  made  for  a  seat  of  the  Muses !  " 

Here  was  soon  rising  the  building  known  since  1 823  as 
University  Hall,  but  before  that  called  merely  "  the  College 
Edifice."  It  was  modeled  on  Nassau  Hall  at  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  although  somewhat  smaller  and  plainer.  The 
Corporation  built  for  the  future,  raising  a  structure  not  only 
noble  in  its  proportions  and  massive  simplicity,  but  for  the 
time  even  magnificent  in  its  dimensions.  Manning  describes 
the  "Edifice,"  with  pardonable  pride,  as  "an  elegant  brick 
Building,  4  Stories  high,  150  by  46  feet  besides  a  Projec- 
tion on  each  side  of  33  by  10  feet."  An  enemy  had  there- 
fore some  basis  for  his  sneer,  in  The  Boston  Gazette  of  July 

C   55   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

27,  1772,  that  the  Corporation  had  built "  a  College  near  as 
large  as  Babel ;  sufficient  to  contain  ten  Times  the  Number 
of  Students  that  ever  have,  or  ever  will,  oblige  the  Tutors 
of  that  popular  University  vi^ith  Opportunity  of  educating, 
or  instructing  them." 

Credit  for  the  rapid  yet  thorough  execution  of  the  work 
belongs  chiefly  to  the  firm  of  Nicholas  Brown  and  Company, 
consisting  of  the  four  Brown  brothers,  who  volunteered  to 
take  entire  charge  of  erecting  the  college  building  and  the 
president's  house.  Their  final  account,  presented  to  the  Cor- 
poration in  September,  1771,  shows  their  minute  care  in 
performing  this  labor  of  love,  which  they  pushed  forward 
with  characteristic  energy  and  skill.  On  May  19,  1770, 
The  Providence  Gazette  published  the  following  news  item  : 

Monday  last  [May  1 4]  the  first  Foundation  Stone  of  the 
College  about  to  be  erected  here  was  laid  by  Mr.  John 
Brown,  of  this  Place,  Merchant,  in  Presence  of  a  Number 
of  Gentlemen,  Friends  to  the  Institution. — About  twenty 
Workmen  have  since  been  employed  on  the  Foundation, 
which  Number  will  be  increased,  and  the  Building  be  com- 
pleated  with  all  possible  Dispatch."  There  is  a  tradition 
that  Mr.  Brown  treated  the  crowd  liberally  to  punch  ;  and 
the  accounts  show  that  what  was  begun  at  the  corner-stone 
was  continued,  almost  in  arithmetical  progression,  as  the 
structure  rose: 

June  28     To  1  Gall,  W  I,  Rum  when  Laying  the 

Fi[r]st  Floor    3^  6^      ... 

Augt  8      To  2  Galls.  W  I.  Rum  r^  2  lbs  Sugar 

1^.  when  Laying  the  2d  floor 8^  ... 

Augt  25    To  4  Galls.  W  I,  Rum  (very 

good  &  old)  a  3^  9^^  is 15' 

1  lb  Sugar  lY^^.  when  raising 

3d  floor 7>^d    15^  iVi^.  .. 

C  56  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Sepr  14     To  4  GaUons  W  I  Rum  a  3«  6^ 14« 

to  1  lb  Sugar  7''.  wlien  raising  4th  Floor  7"^ 

Octob  9     To  rM  GaUons  Old  W  I 

Rum  a  3^  6^ ^1  r  iH'^ 

2  lbs  Sugar  1'  2>^^,  when 

raising  5th  floor I''  2^^!  H    8«  4'^      ... 

Octob  13   To  3  Gallons  W  I,  Rum  when  raising 

the  Roof  a  3«  S'l 10«  6^ 

The  above  items,  in  addition  to  revealing  the  habits  of  our 
forefathers,  show  hoAv  rapidly  the  walls  went  up,  although 
made  of  brick  and  very  solidly  built.  The  speed  was  due 
partly  to  the  disturbances  following  the  Boston  Massacre 
of  March  5,  which  made  it  easy  to  secure  plenty  of  skilled 
M-^orkmen  from  the  neighboring  city.  The  interior  finishing 
went  more  slo^\'ly ;  Stiles  records  in  his  diary  that  on  No- 
vember 18,  1771,  he  "went  to  view  the  College  where  five 
or  six  lower  Rooms  are  finishg  off:  they  have  about  twenty 
Students,  tho'  none  yet  living  in  the  College  Edifice."  The 
two  lower  stories  were  ready  for  use  in  the  winter  of  1771- 
72  ;  the  upper  two  were  not  finished  on  the  inside  until  after 
the  Revolution — the  third  in  1785,  the  fourth  in  1788. 
The  accounts  show  that  up  to  March  1 1, 1771 ,  the  expense 
had  been  £2844  5'  3^4'^,  or  about  $9480,  including  the 
cost  of  the  president's  house,  the  frame  of  which  was 
raised  on  August  21,  1770;  it  was  a  plain  two-and-a-half 
story  house,  set  a  little  to  the  northwest  of  the  college  build- 
ing. How  much  the  interior  finishing  of  the  two  buildings 
cost  is  not  known.  Money  to  "defray  the  Expence  of  Slate- 
ing  the  College  Edifice"  was  still  lacking  in  September, 
1772,  as  a  vote  of  the  Corporation  shows. 

Now,  at  last,  the  affairs  of  the  college  and  its  officers 
began  to  have  a  settled  air.  President  Manning  had  left  his 
pastorate  in  Warren,  rather  abruptlv  and  not  without  hard 

C   57   ]    " 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

feeling  on  the  part  of  the  church;  but  in  1771  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Providence,  at  a  salary  of 
£50;  as  president  his  salary  was  now  £100,  besides  his 
house;  and  he  still  had  a  Latin  school,  which  in  1772  was 
removed  to  the  college  halls. ^  A  deed  now  in  the  university 
archives  shows  that  in  1771  he  bought  for  $464  about  seven 
acres  of  land  adjoining  the  college  grounds  on  the  east, 
which  he  doubtless  cultivated  very  successfully,  for  the  bio- 
graphical sketch  of  him  by  Rowland  says  that  "  as  a  practi- 
cal farmer  and  husbandman,  he  had  but  few  equals."  Pro- 
fessor Howell  received  a  salary  of  £72,  which  was  increased 
to  £90  in  1773,  and  to  £100  a  year  later,  to  commence 
' '  upon  his  removal  from  his  present  dwelling  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  College  Edifice."  In  1774  a  third  teacher 
was  appointed  —  John  Dorrance,  of  the  class  of  1774,  who 
acted  as  tutor  and  librarian,  being  the  first  graduate  of 
Rhode  Island  College  to  give  instruction  in  it. 

The  number  of  students  steadily  increased,  rising  from 
twenty-one  in  1770  to  forty-one  in  1775,  according  to  a  list 
preserved  among  the  Howell  papers.  The  income  from  their 


'  The  school  continued  to  prosper  until  the  Revolution.  After  the  war  it  was 
opened  again  in  the  college  building ;  but  in  1 785  it  was  removed  to  the  school- 
house  on  Meeting  Street,  and  lost  its  connection  with  the  college  for  some 
years.  In  1794  the  Corporation  voted,  "That  the  President  use  his  influence 
and  endeavour  to  establish  a  grammar  school  in  this  Town  as  an  appendage 
to  this  College,"  and  the  school  was  accordingly  resumed.  In  1810  the  col- 
lege built  for  the  school  a  brick  building  costing  $1452,  at  the  head  of  Col- 
lege Street.  The  Corpoi-ation  records  show  that  in  1823  the  school  was  stiU 
under  the  direction  of  the  college.  Just  when  this  supervision  ceased  is  not 
clear,  but  in  1852  a  committee  was  appointed  to  sell  the  building  and  lease 
the  lot ;  both  land  and  building,  however,  remained  tlie  property  of  the  col- 
lege, which  rented  the  latter  for  many  years  to  principals  of  a  private  school 
still  called  the  University  Gi-ammar  School.  In  1900  the  building  was  torn 
down  to  make  room  for  the  Administration  Building. 

^According  to  Stiles's  diary  of  June  24,  1773,  there  were  180  students  at 
Harvard  in  1 773  ;  at  Yale  there  were  1 70  or  1 80  in  1 777 ,  according  to  the 

[58 : 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tuition  formed  a  considerable  part  of  the  college  funds,  and 
the  total  amount  of  it,  at  $12  a  year  per  student,  increased 
from  £72  12^  in  1769  to  £138  12''  in  1775;  room  rent  at 
$5  yearly  brought  in  something  more.  Yet  the  entire  income 
was  of  course  meager,  and  plans  for  enlarging  the  endow- 
ment were  often  under  consideration.  "Our  whole  College 
Fund  consists  of  about  £900  Sterl : , "  wrote  Manning  to  an 
English  friend  on  February  21,  1772,  "being  the  whole 
Sum  collected  abroad  :  For  no  Money  collected  without  the 
Colony  is  made  use  of  in  the  Building :  but  solely  apj)lied 
to  endowing  it,  with  the  strictest  regard  to  the  Donor's 
Intentions,  the  interest  of  '\\'hich  Sum  is  quite  insufficient 
to  provide  for  Tuition  as  two  of  us  are  now  employed,  and 
we  stand  in  need  of  further  help.  May  we  not  expect  some 
further  Assistance  from  our  Friends  in  Engla[n]d?"  On 
May  19  he  asks  of  another  English  friend,  "  Wd :  a  well 
concerted  scheme  of  a  Lottery  to  raise  a  1000,  or  2[000]£ 
Sterl :  meet  wt :  Encouragmt :  by  ye  Sale  of  Tickets  in  Eng- 
land." The  reply  was:  "  We  have  our  fill  of  these  cursed 
gambling  Lotteries  in  London  every  Year  they  are  big  with 
ten  thousand  Evils.  Let  the  Devils  Children  have  them  all 
to  themselves:  Let  us  not  touch  or  taste."  At  the  Corpo- 
ration meeting  in  September,  1772,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed ' '  to  consider  who  may  be  a  proper  Person  to  Solicit 
Donations  in  Europe,  and  if  the  Revd.  President  should 
be  thought  most  suitable  for  that  purpose;  then  to  Consider 
by  whoom  the  place  of  President  may  be  supplied  dur- 
ing his  Absence."  In  1773  and  1774  honorary  degrees 
were  showered  liberally  on  English  clergymen  of  various 
churches,  and  on  other  persons  more  or  less  distinguished, 
in  the  hope  of  arousing  their  interest  in  the  young  institution. 

diary  of  September  27,  1 777,  which  also  says  that  New  Jersey  College  "  used 
to  have,"  i.e.,  before  the  war,  "70  or  80;  Dartnio[uth]  60  or  70." 

C  59  2 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

One  of  those  recommended  for  the  honor  was  suggestively 
described  as  "an  old  rich  Man  &  learned  that  can  leave 
£100  to  ye  Coll."  But  political  events  soon  cut  off  all  hope 
of  aid  from  the  mother  country  by  any  means. 

The  first  five  Commencements  in  Providence  were  held 
in  Mr.  Snow's  meeting-house,  the  largest  in  town.  Com- 
mencement before  the  Revolution  was  not  the  general  and 
rather  turbulent  holiday  which  it  was  to  become  later,  but 
the  contemporary  notices  show  that  it  attracted  large  crowds 
and  excited  much  interest.  The  following  description  of  the 
first  Commencement  in  Providence  is  taken  from  the  Gazette 
of  September  1-8: 

The  Parties  concerned  met  at  the  Court- House  about  Ten  o' Clock, 
fi-om  whence  they  proceeded  to  the  Reverend  Joseph  Snow's  Meet- 
ing-House,  in  the  following  Order;  First,  the  Grammar  Scholars, 
then  the  under  Classes,  the  Candidates  for  Degrees,  the  Bachelors, 
the  Trustees  of  the  CoUege,  the  Fellows,  the  Chancellor  and  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Colony,  and  lastly  the  President.  When  they  were  seated, 
the  President  introduced  the  Business  of  the  Day  by  Prayer;  then 
followed  the  salutatory  Oration^  in  Latin,  by  Mr.  Dennis — and 
a.  forensic  Dispute ;  with  which  ended  the  Exercises  of  the  Forenoon. 
Those  of  the  Afternoon  began  with  an  intermediate  Oration  on 
Catholicism^  pronounced  by  Mr.  Foster;  then  followed  a  syllogis- 
tic Disputation^  in  Latin,  wherein  Mr.  Foster  was  Respondent,  and 
Messieurs  Nash,  Read  and  Dennis,  Opponents.  .  .  .  The  Business 
of  the  Day  being  concluded,  and  before  the  Assembly  broke  up,  a 
Piece  fi-om  Homer  was  pronounced  by  Master  Billy  Edwards  [son 
of  Morgan  Edwards],  one  of  the  Grammar  School  Boys,  not  nine 
Years  old.  This,  as  well  as  the  other  Performances,  gained  Applause 
fi-om  a  polite  and  crowded  Audience,  and  afforded  Pleasure  to  the 
Friends  of  the  Institution. 

In  spite  of  the  politeness  of  the  audiences  at  these  early  Com- 
mencements there  seems  to  have  been  some  disorder,  at  least 
that  of  a  pushing  crowd.  On  the  day  after  this  Commence- 
ment the  Corporation  expressed  its  thanks  for  the  use  of  the 

C   60   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

church,  and  also  voted  to  "repair  all  damages  that  Mere 
occasioned  by  the  Throng."  A  similar  vote  was  passed  in 
1773.  From  the  accounts  of  Nicholas  Brown  and  Company 
are  taken  the  following  items:  June  2,  1772,  "for  hinges 
broke  at  Commencement, ' '  3  shillings ;  "  for  mending  Pews 
broke  Commt  Day,"  1773,  8  shillings;  "for  Mending 
Windows  broke  in  Mr.  Snows  Meeting  House  at  Com- 
mencements 1773  &  74,"  15  shillings. 

The  esteem  in  which  the  honors  of  a  public  Commence- 
ment were  held  by  the  undergraduates  in  these  early  years 
is  amusingly  shown  by  the  following  document : 

Providence  Febrv  19th::  1773  The  remonstrance  of  the  Senior  Class 
of  Rhode  Island  College,  to  the  respectable,  the  PRESIDENT  and 
PROFESSOR  of  the  Same.  Worthy  Sirs,  'T  is  impossible  we  Should 
remain  Calm  and  unconcerned  at  the  present  alarming  Aspect  of  our 
affairs.  Forgive  us  therefor  if  we  express  a  Little  Generous  Warmth 
at  the  Indignity  we  have  had  sufficient  Reason  to  fear  will  be  offered 
us.  Aroused  by  the  too  just  Apprehension  of  the  Ignominy  and  Dis- 
grace that  must  unavoidably  pursue  us  in  future  Life  from  the  De- 
privation of  a  public  Commencement  and  collegial  Honours,  we  are 
reduced  to  the  disagreeable  Necessity  of  addressing  you  in  this  man- 
ner. .  .  .  The  principal  Objection  is  this.  That  we  are  not  Orators. 
Now  our  Opinion  of  an  Orator  is  Something  similar  to  Longinus's 
of  a  poet,  "That  a  Man  must  be  bom  Such."  .  .  .  Since,  then,  it  can- 
not be  expected  that  a  mere  College  Education  without  the  previous 
Endowments  of  bounteous  Nature  can  form  the  Orator,  how  Can 
it  appear  just  or  reasonable  to  any  that  for  this  Cause  we  should 
be  deemed  unfit  to  receive  our  Degrees  in  an  honourable  Manner. 
Another  and  far  more  reasonable  Objection,  prehaps,  is.  That  we 
have  not  applied  ourselves  to  our  Studies  with  all  that  Dilligence  and 
Assiduity  we  ought  to  ha\^e  done.  We  Confess  there  are  some  Arts 
and  Sciences  for  the  Studying  of  which  we  had  not  a  suitable  turn  of 
Mind  and  therfore  could  not  apph^  ourselves  attentively  to  them. 
.  .  .  If  we  are  Lacking  in  point  of  mental  Faculties  who  is  to  be 
blamed?  If  what  little  Proficiency  we  haxe  made  in  Literature  joined 
with  what  through  indefatigable  Industn^  and  unremitting  Ardour 

C  60  ' 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

we  may  make  between  this  and  Examination,  will  not  entitle  us  to  a 
Degree,  we  despair  of  ever  having  the  Honour  to  be  ranked  among 
the  Sons  of  this  Seminary.  .  .  .  We  shall  add  no  more;  but  remain 
with  all  due  Deference  and  Esteem,  your  dutiful  Pupils. 

Thus  early  in  the  history  of  the  college  did  the  students 
take  the  Faculty  firmly  in  hand.  The  logic  of  the  remon- 
strants was  irresistible ;  the  Commencement  exercises  were 
held  as  usual  and  without  perceptible  ebb  in  eloquence,  for 
the  Gazette  remarked  that  "the  young  Gentlemen  per- 
formed their  respective  Parts  with  great  Propriety,  which 
justly  procured  them  the  universal  Applause  of  a  judicious 
and  candid  Audience." 

The  Commencement  of  1774.  was  especially  glorious, 
for,  says  the  Gazette^ ' '  the  Honourable  Governor  of  the  Col- 
ony, escorted  by  the  Company  of  Cadets,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Col.  Nightingale,  preceded  the  usual  Procession." 
The  governor  was  Joseph  Wanton,  who  wore  full  court 
dress.  Rowland's  recollections  of  him  at  Commencements 
are  vivid  :  "The  governor's  wig,  which  had  been  made  in 
England,  was  of  the  pattern  and  size  of  that  of  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  so  large  that  the  shallow 
crowned  hat  could  not  be  placed  on  his  head  without  dis- 
turbing the  curls.  He  therefore  placed  it  under  his  left  arm, 
and  held  his  umbrella  in  his  right  hand.  .  .  .  The  white 
wig  of  President  Manning  was  of  the  largest  dimensions 
usually  worn  in  this  country."  Even  the  governor  and  his 
wig,  however,  could  not  rob  the  cadets  of  their  share  of  glory 
on  this  occasion  ;  the  Gazette  says  they  ' '  made  an  elegant 
and  truly  military  Appearance,  and  both  in  the  Procession 
and  Manoeuvres,  which  they  performed  on  the  College 
Green,  procured  universal  Approbation,  and  convinced  the 
Spectators,  that  Americans  are  no  less  capable  of  military 
Discipline  than  Europeans."  The  next  year,  on  account  of 

[   62    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  outbreak  of  war,  the  public  exercises  of  Commencement 
were  omitted,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  seniors  themseh'es. 

In  1776  Commencement  was  held  for  the  first  time  in 
the  new  Baptist  church,  now  so  familiar  to  all  graduates 
of  Brown  University.  This  noble  example  of  colonial  church 
architecture  was  completed  in  1775,  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
$21,000.  The  building  is  much  larger  than  was  needed 
for  the  ordinary  services  of  the  church,  and  was  erected, 
in  accordance  ^vith  the  vote  of  the  society  on  February  1 1 , 
1 774,  both  "for  the  publick  Worship  of  Almighty  GOD ; 
and  also  for  holding  Commencement  in."  Here  the  Com- 
mencements, with  two  exceptions,^  have  been  held  e^•er 
since,  and  the  sons  of  the  college  have  repaid  in  gratitude 
and  veneration  the  generosity  of  the  builders. 

The  Commencement  of  1776  was  the  last  until  after  the 
Revolution.  The  clouds  of  war  had  been  gathering  thicker 
and  darker  over  the  whole  country,  and  in  the  events  lead- 
ing up  to  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  Rhode  Island  had  taken 
a  prominent  part.  In  1772  the  king's  schooner  Gaspee,  of 
eight  guns,  which  had  been  prowling  up  and  down  Narra- 
gansett  Bay  to  enforce  the  hated  Sugar  Act,  was  surprised 
by  a  party  led  by  John  Brown  and  burned  to  the  A\'ater's 
edge.  Two  years  later  the  colony  was  among  the  first  to 
choose  delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress,  sending  the 
old-time  political  foes,  Stephen  Hopkins  and  Samuel  Ward. 
On  March  2,  1775,  in  accordance  with  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Congress  against  the  purchase  or  use  of  East  India 
tea,  the  people  of  Providence  gathered  in  the  Market  Place 
and  burned  three  hundred  pounds  of  tea,  along  with  Lord 
North's  speech  and  copies  of  Tory  newspapers,  while  the 

^In  1804  and  1832  the  First  Congregational  Church  was  used:  in  1804  at 
the  request  of  the  seniors,  who  wished  to  "ha\e  the  bcnifit  of  the  Oi-gan"  ; 
in  1832  because  the  First  Baptist  Meeting-House  was  undergoing  repairs. 

[   63   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

church  bells  tolled.  When  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton reached  Rhode  Island,  the  little  commonwealth  rose  in 
open  rebellion.  The  General  Assembly  created  an  "army  of 
observation  "  of  fifteen  hundred  men.  It  also  instructed  the 
colony's  delegates  in  Congress  to  "use  their  whole  influ- 
ence ' '  toward  the  formation  ' '  at  the  continental  expense  of 
an  American  fleet ' ' ;  and  when  the  fleet  was  put  in  commis- 
sion in  the  following  spring,  a  Rhode  Islander,  Esek  Hop- 
kins, was  appointed  commander.  "Ere  this,"  says  Rich- 
man,  "  Rhode  Island  had  discarded  nearly  every  badge  of 
colonialism.  It  had  issued  bills  of  credit  for  local  defense ; 
had  established  a  local  postal  system ;  had  erected  fortifi- 
cations ;  had  confiscated  the  estates  of  wealthy  loyalists  of 
Newport  and  Narragansett ;  had  even  at  length  deposed 
Governor  Wanton  and  chosen  Nicholas  Cooke — a  Provi- 
dence man  —  governor  in  his  stead .  Only  one  thing  remained 
to  be  done  to  make  explicit  the  independence  which  by 
these  acts  had  been  implied,  and  that  was  to  pass  a  decla- 
ration formally  absolving  the  people  of  Rhode  Island  from 
their  allegiance  to  the  British  crown.  Such  a  declaration 
was  passed  on  May  4,  just  two  months  before  the  signing 
of  the  great  Declaration  at  Philadelphia." 

In  such  times,  and  in  such  a  center  of  rebellion,  the  col- 
lege could  not  remain  unaffected  or  impassive.  The  Com- 
mencement programs  on  the  w^hole  reflect  the  agitation  of 
the  period  less  than  might  have  been  expected  ;  probably 
the  youthful  orators  were  somewhat  restrained  by  the  Fac- 
ulty. Yet  in  spite  of  the  predominance  of  such  themes  as 
"Solitude,"  "Agriculture,  and  the  Pleasures  of  a  Country 
Life,"  "Female  Education,"  "  The  Incomparable  Advan- 
tages of  Religion,"  "Politeness,"  and  "Theatrical  Exhibi- 
tions corrupt  the  Morals  of  Mankind,"  there  appear  on  the 
program  from  time  to  time  topics  of  a  more  stirring  nature. 

C   64   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

In  1770  the  English  dispute  was  on  the  thesis,  "  Stand- 
ing Armies  in  a  Time  of  Peace  are  detrimental  to  States." 
In  1771  the  "Necessity  of  perpetuating  the  Union  betwixt 
Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies"  was  made  the  subject  of 
a  dialogue,  and  was  followed  by  an  oration  on  "The  Ad- 
vantages of  Peace."  In  1773,  the  year  of  the  Boston  Tea 
Party,  Theodore  Foster,  afterwards  United  States  Senator 
from  Rhode  Island,  spoke  on  "The  Discovery,  progressive 
Settlement,  present  State,  and  future  Greatness,  of  the 
American  Colonies."  In  1774  Samuel  Ward,  soon  to  be 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  first  Rhode  Island  regiment,  took 
"Patriotism"  as  the  subject  for  his  master's  oration;  and 
the  theme  of  the  valedictorian  in  the  year  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  "Liberty,  with  some  Anecdotes 
from  the  present  Times."  The  class  of  1775,  as  we  have 
seen,  denied  themselves  the  pleasure  of  a  public  Commence- 
ment, being,  as  they  said  in  their  petition  to  the  Faculty 
and  Corporation  on  June  8,  "deeply  affected  with  the  Dis- 
tresses of  our  oppressed  Country,  which  now  most  unjustly 
feels  the  baneful  Effects  of  arbitrary  Power."  President 
Manning  and  Professor  Howell,  in  granting  the  petition, 
speak  in  a  strain  of  ardent  patriotism  which  proves  that 
the  officers  as  well  as  the  students  of  Rhode  Island  College 
were  worthy  of  its  name:  "And  though  the  Din  of  Arms, 
and  the  Horrors  of  a  civil  War,  should  invade  our  hitherto 
peaceful  Habitations ;  yet  even  these  are  preferable  to  a  mean 
and  base  Submission  to  arbitrary  Power,  and  lawless  Ra- 
pine. Institutions  of  Learning  will  doubtless  partake  in  the 
common  Calamities  of  our  Country,  as  Arms  have  ever 
proved  unfriendly  to  the  more  refined  and  liberal  Arts  and 
Sciences;  yet  we  are  resolved  to  continue  College  Orders 
here  as  usual,  excepting  that  the  ensuing  Commencement, 
by  the  Advice  of  such  of  the  Corporation  as  could  be  con- 

C  65  2 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

veniently  consulted,  will  not  be  public."  The  Corporation 
at  the  annual  meeting  in  1776  showed  their  spirit  by  hon- 
oring thus  the  man  who  had  been  put  in  command  of  the 
forces  of  the  state:  "In  consideration  of  the  great  Abilities, 
literary  merit  and  the  many  eminent  services  performed  by 
Major  General  Greene  to  this  State  in  particular,  and  the 
Continent  in  general  —  Voted,  that  the  Honorary  Degree 
of  Master  in  the  Arts  be  conferred  upon  him." 

The  foreboding  in  the  Faculty's  reply  to  the  seniors  was 
soon  realized.  The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  and  the  plunge  of 
the  whole  country  into  war  made  the  closing  of  the  college 
only  a  matter  of  time.  The  next  year  conditions  grew  rap- 
idly worse  for  academic  life  in  Rhode  Island.  In  April  the 
American  fleet  under  Hopkins  was  worsted  in  a  fight  with 
a  British  man-of-war  off  Point  Judith;  and  the  enemy's 
vessels  patrolled  the  bay,  greatly  interfering  with  trade.  In 
September  the  situation  was  so  threatening  that  the  Cor- 
poration, at  the  time  of  the  annual  meeting,  waited  ujx)n  the 
General  Assembly  in  a  body  and  successfully  petitioned 
them  "to  continue  the  College  Funds  in  the  Colony  Treas- 
ury, notwithstanding  their  Act  of  March  4th  :  last. ' '  By  this 
prudent  policy  the  small  but  precious  funds  of  the  college 
safely  weathered  the  storm.  At  about  the  same  time  the  col- 
lege library  was  removed  to  the  country  for  safe  keeping. 
On  November  13,  1776,  President  Manning  wrote  to  an 
English  friend:  "May  you  newer  be  alarmed,  as  we  have 
been,  with  the  horrid  roar  of  Artilery,  and  the  hostile 
Flames,  destroying  your  Neighbours  Habitations !  These 
I  have  repeatedly  seen  and  heard,  sitting  in  my  House  & 
lying  in  my  Bed.  .  .  .  You  will  not  think  strange  that  the 
Colleges  have  suffered  greatly,  by  this  tremendous  Convul- 
sion: though,  I  believe,  we  have  not  suffered  more  than 
our  Neighbours."  Less  than  a  month  later, on  December  7, 

[   66  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

seven  ships  of  the  line  and  four  frigates,  commanded  by 
Sir  Peter  Parker,  \\'ith  seventy  transports  carrying  six  thou- 
sand British  and  Hessian  troops,  sailed  into  Newport  har- 
bor. "The  royal  Army  landed  on  Rhode  Island,"  \vrote 
Manning  in  a  letter  after  the  war,  "  &  took  possession  of 
the  same :  This  brought  their  Camp  in  plain  View  from  the 
College  with  the  naked  Eye  ;  upon  which  the  Country  flew^ 
to  Arms  &  marched  for  Providence,  there,  unprovided  with 
Barracks  they  marched  into  the  College  &  dispossesed  the 
Students,  about  40  in  Number."  On  December  14  Man- 
ning published  the  following  notice  in  The  Providence  Ga- 
zette : 

THIS  is  to  inform  all  the  Students,  that  their  Attendance  on  Col- 
lege Orders  is  hereby  dispensed  with,  until  the  End  of  the  next  Spring 
Vacation;  and  that  they  are  at  Liberty  to  return  Home,  or  prosecute 
their  Studies  elsewhere,  as  they  think  proper:  And  that  those  who 
pay  as  particular  Attention  to  their  Studies  as  these  confused  Times 
will  admit,  shall  then  be  considered  in  the  same  Light  and  Standing 
as  if  they  had  given  the  usual  Attendance  here. 

On  May  17,  1777,  he  pubHshed  another  notice: 

AS  the  Term  of  Vacation  in  the  COLLEGE  at  Providence  is  now 
expired,  the  Students  are  hereby  infomied,  that,  in  the  present  State 
of  public  Affairs,  the  Prosecution  of  Studies  here  is  utterly  impracti- 
cable, especially  while  this  continues  a  garrisoned  Town :  It  is  recom- 
mended therefore  to  them,  to  prosecute  their  Studies  elsewhere,  for 
the  present,  to  the  best  Advantage  in  their  Power.  The  senior  Class 
are  desired  to  meet  at  the  College,  to  pass  their  Examination,  and 
receive  their  Degrees,  at  the  usual  Time,  being  the  Second  Day  of 
September  next,  unless  the  College  should  be  called  together  sooner. 

In  accordance  with  these  announcements  the  Corporation 
met  on  September  3,  1777,  and  granted  seven  bachelor's 
degrees  and  four  master's  degrees.  A  meeting  held  the  fol- 
lowing day  was  adjourned  to  "next  Wednesday  Week." 
Theweek  proved  to  be  a  long  one,  lasting  until  May5, 1780. 

[67] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

The  story  of  the  interval,  so  far  as  exercises  at  the  college 
are  concerned,  is  told  briefly  in  the  following  entry  on  the 
Corporation  records :  "As  the  College  Edefice  was  taken  for 
Barracks  and  an  Hospital  for  the  American  Army,  and  con- 
tinued to  be  so  occupied  by  them  &  the  Troops  of  France 
from  December  7th  :  1776  until  June  1782,  the  course  of 
Education  in  the  College,  and  the  regular  meetings  of  the 
Corporation,  were  in  a  great  measure  interrupted  during 
that  period."^ 

During  the  war  twenty-three  of  the  sixty-seven  gradu- 
ates of  the  college  between  the  years  1769  and  1782  engaged 
in  active  service  on  the  American  side,  some  as  soldiers, 
others  as  chaplains,  surgeons,  and  members  of  military 
committees.  None  of  the  officers  of  instruction,  however, 
took  active  part  in  the  war.  Professor  Howell  and  Tutor 
Dorrance  both  studied  law,  the  former  resigning  his  pro- 
fessorship in  1779.  President  Manning's  pastorate  of  the 
Baptist  church  absorbed  much  of  his  energy,  the  more  so 
because  of  increasing  destitution  and  distress  among  his 
parishioners  as  the  war  went  on.  But  there  is  evidence 
that  he  found  time  for  other  good  works.  Howland,  in  a 
biographical  sketch  of  Manning,  tells  how  he  obtained  from 
General  Sullivan,  at  the  last  moment,  a  reprieve  for  three 
soldiers  condemned  by  court-martial,  and,  by  hard  riding, 
arrived  in  time  to  prevent  their  execution.  Early  in  the  year 
1779  he  gave  proof  of  his  powers  as  a  persuasive  diplomat 
in  an  important  mission  for  the  commonwealth.  By  this 
time  the  destitution  in  Rhode  Island  was  very  great.  ' '  Two 
thousand   persons,"  says   the  historian  Arnold,  "driven 

'  In  the  claim  for  damages  presented  by  tlie  Corporation  to  the  United  States 
Government  after  the  Revolution  it  is  stated  that  the  American  troops  used 
it  for  barracks  and  hospital  from  December  10, 1776,  to  April  20, 1780,  and 
that  the  French  troops  used  it  for  a  hospital  from  June  26, 1780,  to  May  27, 

1782. 

I  68;] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

from  Rhode-island  were  scattered  about,  homeless  and  pen- 
niless, through  the  State,  but  chiefly  in  Providence,  depend- 
ent upon  public  or  private  charity."  The  case  was  the  more 
desperate  because  several  of  the  neighboring  states  had  laws 
forbidding  the  exportation  of  food  stuffs.  The  service  that 
Manning  did  in  this  crisis  is  best  told  in  the  words  of 
Rowland : 

The  Governour  and  Council  of  War  of  this  State,  wishing  to  give 
their  language  of  remonstrance,  a  power  of  impression  which  paper 
could  not  be  made  to  conAey,  commissioned  Doctor  Manning  to 
repair  to  Connecticut  and  represent  pei"sonally  to  the  government  of 
that  State  our  peculiar  situation,  and  to  confer  with,  and  propose  to 
them,  a  different  mode  of  procedure.  The  Doctor  in  this  embassy 
obtained  all  that  he  desired,  the  restrictions  were  removed,  and  in 
addition  to  this,  on  his  representation  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
refiigees  from  the  Islands,  contributions,  in  money  or  provisions, 
were  made  in  nearh'  all  the  parishes  in  the  interiour  of  Connecticut, 
and  forwarded  for  their  relief. 

It  should  be  added  that  Deputy-Governor  Bowen  was  also 
a  commissioner.  The  following  letter  to  Moses  Brown  com- 
pletes the  story: 

Providence  March  25th:  1779 
Respected  friend 

The  Distress  of  the  Poor  in  this  Town  for  want  of  Bread  is  so  great 
that  unless  some  speedy  Provision  can  be  made  I  fear  many  must  suffer 
extremely,  if  not  perish.  Upon  looking  into  the  Matter  I  can  see  but 
one  way  to  prevent  it;  and  that  is  that  those  who  have  any  more  than 
for  a  present  Supply  for  their  Families  should  lend  it  to  Capt  Peleg 
Clarke,  to  be  immediately  distributed,  &  to  repay  it  on  the  Arrival  of 
the  Grain  from  Connecticut,  which  the  depths  of  the  Roads  prevent 
being  brought,  till  better  Weather — Clarke  sajs  he  will  do  this,  as 
soon  as  in  his  Power :  But  all  agree  that  unless  20  Bushels  can  be  got, 
such  a  Distribution  will  be  impracticable,  so  great  is  the  Number  in 
distress.  I  have  got  ready  five  Bushels  of  Indian  Corn,  &  Arthur  Fen- 
ner  2  Bushels  of  Rye:  and  if  vou  can  do  any  thing  in  this  Way  shd. 
be  glad  vou  would  communicate  it  to  Capt  Clarke  as  soon  as  may  be. 

C  69  1 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

It  would  be  best  to  have  the  whole  ground,  and  distributed  at  the 
Market  House.  I  know  I  need  use  no  Arguments,  but  onK'  recite  the 
facts  to  a  benevolent  Mind. 

I  am  &c 

James  Manning 

On  April  29,  1779,  President  and  Mrs.  Manning  left  Provi- 
dence on  a  journey  by  horse  and  carriage  to  the  Middle 
States.  They  were  gone  five  months;  and  the  President's 
journal^  contains  much  interesting  information  about  bad 
roads,  "tremendous  mountains,"  the  crops,  distinguished 
men,  and  the  political  and  military  situation.  They  visited 
relatives  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  and  reached  Phila- 
delphia on  July  2 .  The  return  itinerary  included  West  Point, 
where  Manning  dined  at  General  Greene's  quarters,  and 
met  Washington,  the  French  ambassador,  and  Baron  von 
Steuben. 

In  the  midst  of  these  varied  experiences  President  Man- 
ning did  not  forget  the  college  nor  lose  heart  over  its  pros- 
pects. In  a  letter  of  November  17, 1778,  to  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Ustick,  of  the  class  of  1771,  he  says,  after  urging  him  to 
consider  settling  in  Pomfret,  Connecticut:  "It  would  be 
a  good  place  for  a  Latin  school,  a  nursery  for  the  College, 
which  I  wish  you  immediately  to  engage  in,  and  endeavor 
to  influence  as  many  as  you  can  of  our  people  to  educate 
their  children.  .  .  .  I  have  written  and  am  about  writing  to 
all  our  ministers  capable  of  teaching  Latin,  to  immediately 
engage  in  the  business.  I  hope,  from  present  appearances, 
that  college  orders  may  be  again  revived  next  spring."  It 
was  not,  however,  until  the  spring  of  1780  that  even  an  at- 
tempt could  be  made  to  resume  instruction  at  the  college. 
By  a  notice  in  The  Providence  Gazette  of  April  29 ,  the  chan- 
cellor, the  president,  and  two  fellows  called  a  meeting  of  the 

'  Published  in  Guild's  Brmvn  University  and  Manning. 

L  70  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Corporation  for  May  5  "at  the  College-Hall"  ;  the  call  is 
dated  April  28,  only  eight  days  after  the  troops  left  the  build- 
ing. At  this  meeting,  say  the  records,  "President  Manning 
presented  a  proposal  for  reviving  the  College  containing  the 
terms  on  which  he  would  begin  to  instruct  the  youth  who 
might  apply  for  Education,  which  was  approved;  and,  he 
was  accordingly  ordered  to  begin."  His  salary  A\as  fixed 
at  £60.  In  the  archives  is  the  following  notice,  signed  by 
Manning  and  dated  April  13,  1780,  or  a  week  before  the 
troops  vacated  the  college  building ;  it  was  published  in  the 
Gazette  of  April  29 : 

NOTICE  is  hereb^'  given, that  on  the  10th  of  Mav  next  the  College  in 
this  Town  will  be  opened,  to  receive  the  Youth  who  desire  to  prose- 
cute their  Studies  under  my  Direction :  And  that  a  Grammar  School 
will  be  opened,  at  the  same  Time  and  Place.  The  Terms  of  Tuition, 
and  Boarding,  may  be  known  by  applying  to  the  Subscriber;  who  will 
pay  particular  Attention  as  well  to  the  Morals  as  Instruction  of  those 
committed  to  his  Care. 

This  courageous  beginning  amidst  the  ruin  left  by  war  was 
destined  to  a  speedy  interruption.  On  the  fifth  of  the  next 
month  Governor  Greene  wrote  to  Manning  the  following 
note,  which  cannot  look  more  somber  now,  on  its  paper 
browned  by  age,  than  it  did  to  the  President  when  it  came 
fresh  into  his  hands  that  day: 

Sir, 

Doctor  Craick,  who  is  directed  by  General  Washington  to  applv  to 
this  State  to  be  furnished  with  some  Convenient  Building  for  a  Hos- 
pital for  the  Reception  of  the  French  Invalids,  has  represented  to  the 
Council  of  War  that  the  College  Edifice  is  the  most  convenient  in 
Ever\^  Respect  for  the  purpose.  I  am  desired  bvthe  Council  to  acquaint 
you  with  this  matter  &  request  your  attendance  to  gi\e  them  infor- 
mation of  the  Use,  which  is  now  made  of  said  Edifice. 

According  to  Backus,  the  building  was  seized  on  Sunday, 
June  25,  "while  Dr.  Manning  was  gone  to  preach  in  town." 

c  71 : 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

For  nearly  two  years  the  college  was  again  homeless.  But 
the  stout-hearted  President  was  not  discouraged,  nor  utterly 
thwarted.  In  September,  1780,  a  meeting  of  the  Corpora- 
tion, attended  by  four  fellows  and  four  trustees,  met  at  his 
house  and  reelected  Stephen  Hopkins  as  chancellor  and 
John  Brown  as  treasurer,  and  elected  David  Howell  sec- 
retary. They  transacted  no  other  business — indeed,  what 
could  they  have  done?  But  it  is  probable  that  they  informally 
sanctioned  Manning's  purpose  to  continue  the  work  of  in- 
struction as  best  he  might.  It  is  certain  that  he  did  con- 
tinue it,  perhaps  in  his  own  house,  for  two  years  later  four 
candidates  for  the  bachelor's  degree  are  spoken  of,  in  the 
Corporation  records,  as  "having  pursued  their  Studies 
under  President  Manning." 

Some  time  before  this,  however,  the  college  building  had 
been  restored  to  the  uses  for  w  hich  it  was  designed,  the  last 
of  the  French  invalids  having  been  removed  on  May  27, 
1782.  But  it  was  in  a  dreadful  condition.  Manning,  in  an 
unpubHshed  letter  of  June  17,  1782,  says,  "The  Corpora- 
tion have  ordered  the  augean  Stable  cleansed.  .  .  .  It  is  left 
in  a  most  horrid  dirty.  Shattered  Situation."  The  first  draft 
of  an  undated  petition  to  the  General  Assembly,  in  Manning's 
hand,  praying  that  the  building  may  be  restored  to  the  col- 
lege, contains  the  following  graphic  details:  "Great  Injury 
hath  been  done  to  every  Part  of  it  since  taken  out  of  the  Hands 
of  the  Corporation ;  Especially  by  two  bui  [l]  dings  adjoining 
it  one  an  House  of  Office  at  the  North  End,  with  a  Vault 
15  Feet  deep  under  it,  having  broken  down  the  Wall  of  the 
College  to  facilitate  the  Passage  of  the  Invalids  from  the 
Edifice  into  it;  from  which  Addition,  the  intolerable  Stench 
renders  all  the  northern  Part  uninhabitable ;  and  the  other  an 
Horse  Stable  bui[l]t  from  the  East  Projection  to  ye  North 
End  by  which  the  House  is  greatly  weakened  many  of  the 

C    72   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Windows  are  also  taken  entirely  out  of  the  House,  &  others 
so  broken  as  well  as  the  Slate  on  the  Roof  that  the  Storms 
continually  beat  into  it." 

The  followed  undated  letters,  hitherto  unpublished,  set 
before  us  in  realistic  vividness  the  distressful  state  of  things, 
during  the  occupation  of  the  building  by  the  French  troops 
at  least,  and  the  helplessness  of  its  would-be  guardians. 
The  urgency  of  the  situation  and  the  haste  with  which  the 
notes  were  interchanged  are  shown  by  the  fact  that  both  are 
written  on  a  single  sheet,  the  first  on  one  side  and  the  reply 
on  the  back. 

Gentn 

I  just  now  am  mfoitned,  through  a  french  Soldier,  that  speaks  Eng- 
lish, that  they  are  about  knocking  down  the  Closets  in  the  College,  to 
sell  the  Boards;  and  that  they  are  going  to  sell  all  the  College  Win- 
dows, at  the  Vandue  to  Morrow,  &  sa}'  that  they  put  them  all  in, 
and  of  Course  they  belong  to  the  King — These  Orders,  he  says  come 
from  the  Commissary  at  Boston — There  is  not  one  of  the  French 
now  here,  who  was  at  the  Repairing  the  College — I  think  Mr  Jo- 
seph Brown,  ast.  [  =  assisted  by  ?  ]  David  Martin  took  an  Acct :  of  the 
Situation  of  the  Building,  after  the  Council  Voted  it  away — I  am 
inclined  to  think  this  Infonnation  true  fi-om  the  Noise  of  Hammers 
there  for  some  Days  past;  &  from  some  of  the  Windows  being  taken 
out — I  would  have  seen  you  both  if  I  had  not  been  lame — The 
sale  begins  at  ten  O  Clock  to-morrow,  it  will  be  necessar\'  to  see  to 
this  early —  Yours, 

Wednesday  Evg.  10  OClocke  Jas.  Manning 

Messrs  Jos :  &  Nicho.  Brown 

Sr 

I  can  only  advise  your  sending  an  account  of  the  within  addresed 
to  such  of  the  Corporation  as  are  in  this  town  as  early  as  you  can  in 
the  morning  Requesting  a  meeting  of  them  at  your  Howse  or  if  you 
choose  at  my  Howse  Tho  it  may  be  best  upon  the  spott  &  if  they 
will  generally  come  together  I  beleve  if  nothing  ells  can  be  done  they 
may  be  prevented  from  selling  the  windows 

C   73   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

you  will  appoint  the  time  &  p[l]ace  &  be  sure  to  notify  all  the 
members  in  town  yours 

Jos  Brown 
N  Brown 

The  following  Gentlemen,  Members  of  the  Corporation,  agreeable  to 
the  above  Advice,  are  eaniestly  requested  to  meet  at  my  House  this 
Momg  at  9  O Clock, 

Tliursday  Momg  J-  Manning 

6  OClocke 

{^Fifteeyi  names  follow  .^ 

It  was  natural  that  the  Corporation  should  determine  to 
get  compensation  for  the  use  of  and  injury  to  the  college 
property  through  so  long  a  time.  They  set  about  it  early, 
and  kept  at  it  for  years,  until,  at  the  end  of  the  century,  the 
slow  machinery  of  government  ground  out  partial  justice. 
At  a  meeting  of  seven  members  of  the  Corporation  on  May 
31,  1782,  four  days  after  the  building  was  vacated  by  the 
French,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  make  a  careful  esti- 
mate of  the  damage ;  and  their  report  shows  that  doors, 
hinges,  locks,  window  frames,  etc.,  were  gone  from  every 
room  on  the  first  and  second  floors,  and  that  serious  dam- 
age had  been  done  to  the  walls  and  roof.  On  the  basis  of 
this  report,  made  June  12,  1782,  the  following  bill,  splen- 
didly engrossed  in  a  bold  hand,  was  presented  to  the  cen- 
tral government: 

The  United  States  of  America  To  Rhode  Island  College  Dr.  To  the 
use  of  the  College  Edifice  of  150  Feet  Long  &  4  Storeys  high  from 
10  Decemr:  1776,  to  20  Aprl:  1780:  for  Barracks  &  an  Hospital  for 
the  American  Troops.  @  £  120.pr:  Ann:  3  jts.  4  mo:  and  10  days 
i^403-6-8.  To  the  use  of  the  College  from  26  June  1780  To  May 
27.  1782.  for  a  Hospital  for  the  Troops  of  his  Most  Christian  Ma- 
jesty, 1  Year  &  11  Months,  @y  i^l20.  pr  Ann.  ;^230.  To  damage  .  .  . 
^675-17.  Total  ^^1309-3-8. 

[   74  D 


HISTORY  OF   BKOWN  UNIVERSITY 

This  bill  was  presented  in  1782,  and  persistent  attempts 
were  made  to  get  a  settlement.  On  December  13,  1792, 
an  additional  charge  of  £991  0"  6^*  for  simple  interest  was 
calmly  added,  making  a  total  of  £2300  4**  2*\  or  about 
$7667.  On  May  27,  1800,  as  the  manuscript  accounts  of 
Nicholas  Brown,  treasurer,  show,  the  sum  of  $2779.13 
was  receiA'ed  by  the  college  for  the  use  of  and  damage  to  the 
building  by  the  American  troops. 


[   75  ] 


CHAPTER  III 
PRESIDENT  MANNING'S  ADMINISTRATION 

[CONTINUED] 
FINANCIAL    DIFFICULTIES    AFTER   THE    REVOLUTION  :  GROWTH    OF   THE 
COLLEGE  :  COMMENCEMENTS  :  PERSONALITY    AND    WORK    OF    MANNING  : 
CURRICULUM  :  SCHOLARSHIP  AND    SUCCESS    OF   THE    EARLY    GRADUATES 

THE  final  evacuation  of  the  college  building  by  the 
soldiers  in  1782  left  the  way  open  for  a  complete  re- 
sumption of  all  college  activities,  but  the  difficulties  were 
very  great  and  required  energetic  action.  The  President  in  a 
notice  dated  August  16, 1782,  and  published  in  The  Provi- 
dence Gazette  of  August  31,  asked  for  a  full  attendance 
at  the  coming  meeting  of  the  Corporation  :  ' '  The  present 
deplorable  Situation  of  the  College  loudly  calls  for  every 
possible  Assistance  from  all  its  Friends,  but  more  especially 
for  that  of  the  Corporation."  In  response  to  this  call,  fif- 
teen trustees  and  six  fellows  met  at  the  college  on  Septem- 
ber 4  and  5.  They  granted  the  bachelor's  degree  to  seven 
candidates,  four  who  had  been  studying  under  President 
Manning,  and  three  who  had  been  juniors  in  college  at  the 
time  of  its  breaking  up.  They  voted  to  ask  the  legislature 
to  approve  of  sundry  minor  changes  in  the  charter  neces- 
sitated by  the  severance  of  the  colonies  from  Great  Britain. 
The  vigorous  and  judicious  measures  by  which  they  met 
the  immediate  needs  of  the  situation  and  planned  for  the 
future  are  best  shown  by  a  few  entries  from  the  records : 

The  Chancellor,  the  President  &  Henry  Ward  Esqr:  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  break  the  old  Seal  of  the  College,  which  con- 
tains the  Busts  of  the  present  King  and  Queen  of  Great  Britain;  and 
to  agree  upon  a  new  Seal  with  suitable  devices,  to  be  made  of  Sil- 
ver, and  to  report  their  proceedings  thereon  to  this  Corporation.^ 

*  For  an  imprint  of  tlie  second  seal,  see  page  520. 

C   76  3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Resolved  that  the  President  &  Govr:  Bowen  he  a  Committee  to 
arrange  all  the  College  papei^s,  which  are  now  loose  &  in  a  scattered 
condition;  and  to  get  the  same  as  soon  as  possible  recorded  in  the 
book  containing  the  College  records. 

Resolved  that  the  College  Libraiy,  which,  owing  to  the  public  con- 
fusions, has  for  se\eral  }  ears  been  in  the  country,  after  being  compared 
&  examined  by  the  Catalogue,  be  immediately  brought,  with  care  into 
Town,  that  the  books  ma}^  be  made  use  of  by  the  Students,  as  for- 
merly. —  President  Manning  &  John  Jenckes  Esqr:  are  requested  to 
see  this  order,  forthwith  executed. 

Resolved,  that  a  Subscription  be  opened  for  raising,  not  exceeding 
£300  for  the  sole  purpose  of  repairing  the  College  Edefice. 

The  President  and  Jabez  Bowen  were  appointed  a  commit- 
tee ' '  to  procure  a  Tutor,  as  soon  as  possible  on  the  best  terms 
they  can";  they  engaged  Ashur  Robbins,  a  graduate  of 
Yale  in  1782,  who  later  entered  the  law ,  becoming  United 
States  district  attorney  in  1812,  and  representing  the  state 
in  the  national  Senate  from  1825  to  1839. 

The  college  now  began  anew  to  struggle  upward,  but  the 
path  was  rough  and  progress  slow.  For  a  while  the  state 
of  things  was  almost  desperate,  for  both  students  and  funds 
were  lacking.  A  public  Commencement,  at  which  six  grad- 
uated, was  held  in  1783;  but  the  students  in  college  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  and  those  who  had  recently  been  under 
Manning's  private  instruction  having  nearly  all  taken  their 
degrees,  the  number  in  attendance  was  now  very  small, 
only  twelve  in  November,  1783,  and  no  more  Commence- 
ments could  be  held  until  1786.  The  productive  funds  at 
that  time  yielded  barely  £60,  and  there  was  also  a  great 
lack  of  books  and  apparatus. 

Various  methods  of  increasing  the  income  were  open 
to  the  Corporation,  and  they  tried  them  all.  We  have  seen 
how  persistently,  and  how  long  in  vain,  they  sought  to  re- 
cover damages  from  the  national  government.  At  the  meet- 

C   77  j 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ing  in  September,  1782,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  sell 
the  college  lands  in  Aarious  parts  of  the  state,  the  gifts  of 
Esek  Hopkins  and  others;  but  this  plan  offered  little  pros- 
pect of  relief,  for  agriculture  was  still  prostrate.  Because  of 
the  general  impoverishment  there  was  also  small  hope  of 
raising  much  money  by  subscription  in  this  country,  and  it 
was  not  a  favorable  time  to  ask  Englishmen  to  aid  an  Amer- 
ican college.  Yet  Manning  laid  before  the  Corporation  on 
January  27,  1783,  a  plan  for  soliciting  funds  abroad,  offer- 
ing to  attempt  the  task  in  person.  The  Corporation  agreed 
to  the  proposal,  provided  some  suitable  person  could  be 
found  to  preside  over  the  college  in  his  absence;  but  this  was 
not  easily  done,  and  the  plan  was  never  carried  out.  The 
President  tried  instead  the  persuasive  powers  of  his  pen. 
On  November  8,  1783,  he  wrote  to  the  Rev.  John  Ryland: 
' '  Can  you  find  no  Gentleman  of  Fortune  among  you  who 
wishes  to  rear  a  lasting  Monument  to  his  Honour  in  Amar- 
ica?  If  you  can  direct  his  attention  to  the  Hill  of  Providence 
in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  where  are  [=  whereon]  an 
elegant  Edifice  is  already  erected,  which  waits  for  a  Name 
from  Some  distinguished  Benefactor  The  Corporation  are 
determined  to  do  this  Honour  to  its  greatest."  On  the  same 
day  he  wrote  to  Thomas  Llewelyn,  of  London:  ' '  Cambridge 
College  was  so  fortunate  as  to  attract  the  Attention  of  an 
Hollis ;  New  Haven  of  a  Yale  &  New  Hampshire  of  a  Dart- 
mouth: who  have  given  their  Names  to  these  Seats  of  Sci- 
ence. We  should  think  ourselves  no  less  happy  in  the  Pat- 
ronage of  a  Llewelin.  Llewelin  College  appears  well  when 
written  &  sounds  no  less  agreeably  when  spoken."  But  this 
might-be  benefactor  had  died  three  months  before,  and  the 
ears  of  others  seemed  equally  deaf. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  on  January  8,  1784,  a 
comprehensive  scheme  was  adopted.  Mr.  Howell  was  ap- 

C   78   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

pointed  to  go  to  Europe  to  solicit  funds,  being  promised  his 
expenses  "exclusive  of  his  Cloathing"  and  seven  and  a  half 
per  cent  of  all  moneys  he  turned  in.  The  President  was  ' '  to 
try  his  Hand  in  New  England,"  being  "esteemed  a  Poor 
Beggar^''''  as  he  humorously  wrote  to  Howell  the  next  day. 
William  Rogers,  the  first  student  matriculated,  was  asked 
to  solicit  "to  the  Southard";  and  the  Rev.  William  Van 
Horn,  an  honorary  Master  of  Arts  in  1774,  Mas  given  an 
opportunity  to  show  his  gratitude  by  collecting  funds  in  the 
Middle  States.  Manning  might  truthfully  write  to  Rogers, 
on  January  9,  "  You  see  we  are  determined  to  sweep  the 
Board  now."  On  the  same  day  he  wrote  a  persuasive  let- 
ter to  Howell:  "Mr.  Mullet,  an  English  Mercht:  of  great 
Character,  &  a  Baptist,  .  .  .  tells  me  he  thinks  our  Pros- 
pect is  flattering,  if  there  is  no  Time  lost  in  the  Applica- 
tion, which  should  be  made  before  the  People  are  gulled  out 
by  other  Soliciters,  who  are  flocking  over  in  Crouds  —  Dr. 
Witherspoon  is,  I  am  told,  already  gone.  I  fear  we  shall 
again  make  it  an  Afternoon  Business,  if  delayed  beyond  the 
Spring."  But  Howell  and  Rogers  both  declined,  and  little 
came  of  the  attempt  as  a  whole. 

The  Corporation  tried  yet  another  plan  :  they  appealed  to 
the  king  of  France.  Fantastic  as  the  scheme  seems  now, 
there  were  facts  which  made  it  appear  feasible  then,  even 
to  the  hard-headed  business  men  of  the  Corporation :  the 
French  king  had  been  our  recent  ally  ;  his  invalid  soldiers 
and  seamen  had  found  a  hospital  in  the  college  building ; 
French  ofliicers,  including  some  members  of  the  nobility, 
being  quartered  in  Providence  for  a  year  or  more,  had  be- 
come the  warm  friends  of  leading  members  of  the  Corpora- 
tion ;  and  it  was  reported  that  the  king  had  made  an  offer 
of  aid  to  Yale  College,  which  had  been  declined.  A  resolu- 
tion was  therefore  passed,  at  the  annual  meeting  in  1783, 

C   79  ■] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

that  an  Application  be  made  to  his  most  Christian  Ma- 
jesty to  patronize  this  College ;  and  that  the  President,  Revd: 
MrStillman  &Doctr:  Waterhouse  be  a  committee  to  draught 
a  Petition  to  him  for  that  Purpose."  At  a  meeting  on  Jan- 
uary 7-8,  1784,  the  address  to  the  king  and  an  accom- 
panying letter  to  Franklin,  then  our  minister  at  the  French 
court,  were  read  and  approved  ;  and  it  was  voted  that  a  du- 
plicate of  each  be  sent  to  Howell,  in  Congress,  "to  be  com- 
municated to  the  French  Minister  at  Philadelphia,  soliciting 
his  influence  in  our  favour."  Manning  wrote  to  Howell  the 
day  after, ' '  The  Idea  is  to  feel  the  Minister  to  know  whether 
our  Proposal  will  take,  &  not  to  let  him  know  of  the  real 
Application,  unless  he  encourages  it."  Howell  replied,  on 
February  20,  that  the  minister  received  him  courteously 
and  agreed  to  forward  the  letter  and  the  address  to  Franklin 
with  his  next  dispatches.  Nothing  more  was  heard  of  either  ; 
it  is  probable  that  both  were  swallowed  up  in  Franklin's 
massive  common  sense.  Undiscouraged,  the  Corporation  re- 
newed the  attempt  to  catch  the  ear  of  his  Most  Christian 
Majesty  two  years  later,  when  President  Manning  was  in 
Congress ;  he  and  his  colleague  were  asked  to  forward  the 
address  to  our  new  minister  in  France,  Thomas  Jefferson, 
with  a  request  for  his  aid.  Jefferson's  reply,  on  July  22, 1787, 
courteously  pricked  the  bubble:  "I  thought  it  necessary  to 
sound,  previously,  those  who  were  able  to  inform  me  what 
would  be  the  success  of  the  application.  I  was  assured,  so  as 
to  leave  no  doubt,  that  it  would  not  be  complied  with.  .  .  . 
Upon  such  information  I  was  satisfied,  that  it  was  most  pru- 
dent not  to  deliver  the  letter,  and  to  spare  to  both  parties  the 
disagreeableness  of  giving  and  receiving  a  denial."  Thus 
ended  the  first  and  last  attempt  of  Brown  University  to  get 
aid  from  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe. 

While  these  various  methods  to  increase  the  funds  and 
C   80  J 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

improve  the  equipment  of  the  college  were  being  tried,  the 
income  remained  practically  the  same.  But  help  was  slowly 
coming  from  a  humbler  but  surer  source,  an  increase  in  the 
number  of  students,  with  a  small  advance  in  the  price  for 
tuition.  The  growth  was  fundamentally  due  to  the  reviving 
prosperity  of  the  country,  but  a  secondary  cause  \\  as  bet- 
ter facilities  for  instruction.  In  the  autumn  of  1783  Mr. 
John  Brown  offered  to  pay  half  the  sum  necessary  to  buy 
"a  compleat  Philosophical  Apparatus  &  Library"  if  the 
Corporation  would  raise  the  other  half,  and  in  a  few  days 
about  £700  was  secured  for  this  purpose.  As  a  result  of  this 
timely  gift,  some  valuable  instruments  and  about  fourteen 
hundred  books  were  soon  added  to  the  equipment. 

The  next  year  the  Faculty  was  much  strengthened  by 
the  appointment  of  two  professors,  "both  of  whom,"  writes 
Manning,  "engaged  to  give  Lectures  in  their  respective 
Branches,  without  any  Expence  to  the  College  while  des- 
titute of  an  Endowment."  They  were  Joseph  Brown,  one 
of  the  Brown  brothers,  described  by  Manning  as  "a  philo- 
sophical Genius,"  who  was  appointed  professor  of  experi- 
mental philosophy;  and  Benjamin  Waterhouse,  a  doctor  of 
medicine  of  the  University  of  Leyden  and  professor  of  the 
theory  and  practice  of  physic  in  Harvard  College.  The  Cor- 
poration voted  on  September  2,  1784,  "That  this  Corpora- 
tion will  proceed  to  establish  Professorships  in  the  various 
branches  of  Learning,  in  this  College,  as  fast  as  suitable 
persons  can  be  found  to  undertake  them ;  and  that  the  Presi- 
dent &  Professors  be  requested  to  enquire  after  suitable  Per- 
sons for  such  places. ' '  Professor  Waterhouse  served  through 
Manning's  administration.  Professor  Brown  died  in  1785, 
and  was  succeeded  the  next  year  by  Peres  Fobes,  a  Con- 
gregationalist  clergyman,  who  had  been  acting  president 
earlier  in  the  year  during  Manning's  absence  in  Congress. 

[   81    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Benjamin  West  was  appointed  professor  of  mathematics 
and  astronomy  in  1786.  These  professorships,  aUhough 
they  heightened  the  reputation  and  efficiency  of  the  college, 
were  lectureships  merely;  the  daily  recitations  had  to  be 
conducted  by  the  president  and  tutors.  For  four  months  in 
1785-86  the  college  had  the  services  of  a  second  tutor,  Rob- 
ert Scott,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  who 
taught  the  languages,  arts,  and  sciences.  He  was  followed 
in  1786  by  Abel  Flint,  a  graduate  of  Yale,  who  withdrew 
in  1790  to  enter  the  Congregationalist  ministry,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Josias  L.  Arnold,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth. 
Meanwhile,  in  1787,  a  third  tutor  had  been  added  to  the 
Faculty,  Jonathan  Maxcy,  of  the  class  of  1787,  soon  to 
become  president. 

Tutors  could  not  be  had  for  nothing,  although  professors 
might  be ;  and  it  was  the  increase  in  the  number  of  students 
that  made  possible  as  well  as  necessary  this  enlargement 
of  the  teaching  corps.  Manning's  letters  during  these  years 
show  that  the  college  was  steadily  growing.  On  July  3, 
1784,  he  says  there  were  twenty-three  college  students, 
besides  nearly  twenty  in  the  grammar  school ;  a  year  later, 
thirty-seven;  in  April,  1786,  about  fifty;  in  September, 
1787,  sixty  ;  in  June  of  the  next  year, "more  Students  than 
ever  it  had";  and  on  Christmas  Day,  1789,  the  number 
lacked  "but  two  of  Seventy."  The  root  out  of  dry  ground 
was  proving  that  it  had  life  in  it,  and  would  yet  grow  into 
a  great  tree. 

But  the  relief  from  increase  in  receipts  for  tuition  and 
room  rent  was  slow  at  first,  and  often  uncertain,  particu- 
larly when  students  could  not,  or  would  not,  pay  their  bills 
promptly.  From  these  and  other  causes  (chiefly  the  refusal 
of  the  legislature  to  pay  him  in  good  money  for  his  recent 
services  in  Congress),  the  winter  of  1786-87  was  the  most 

C    82    ] 


« 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

distressful  in  Manning's  life.  On  Januan-  18,  1787,  he 
writes  thus  to  Hezekiah  Smith : 

Of  all  the  Arrearages  of  Tuition  for  the  last  year,  &  the  quarter  ad- 
vanced in  this  I  have  not  reed,  Ten  Pounds.  I  was  taken  sick  the  day 
after  the  second  great  Snow.  With  no  provisions  in  the  Cellar,  excej^t 
100  Wt.  Cheese,  2  Barrels  of  Cyder  &  some  Potatoes,  with  not  a 
Load  of  Wood  at  my  door :  Nor  could  I  command  a  single  Dollar 
to  supply  these  Wants.  The  kindness  of  my  Neighbours,  howe\er, 
kept  us  from  suffering.  But  when  a  man  has  hardly  earned  money  to 
be  reduced  to  this  abject  state  of  Dependance,  requires  the  exercise 
of  more  grace  than  I  can  boast  of  ...  I  have  serious  thought  of 
removing  to  the  fann  at  the  Jerseys,  &  undertake  dig-ging  for  m}' 
support.  Should  things  wear  the  same  unfa\'ourable  aspect  next  j'ear, 
I  believe  I  shall  make  the  experiment  if  my  Life  is  spared. 

Unpublished  letters  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Jones,  who  was 
establishing  a  school  in  Kentuck}^  and  perhaps  planning  for 
a  college  there,  and  who  wanted  Manning's  aid,  sho^^■  that 
he  was  deeply  dissatisfied  with  conditions  in  Providence  dur- 
ing the  years  1785  to  1787,  and  that  the  college  narrowly 
escaped  losing  its  president: 

Providence  Nov.  12th:  1785  ...  I  really  wish,  should  my  Life  be 
spared,  that  my  connections  here  would  any  how  admit  of  my  going 
out  with  you  in  the  Spring.  I  feel  my  Spirit  moved  to  it,  but  as  yet 
see  no  way  open,  but  by  disengaging  myself  at  once  from  Providence 
at  all  events ;  &  I  see  not  how  I  can  consistently  do  this,  at  least,  be- 
fore the  next  commencmt :  My  feelings  have  long  since  prognosticated 
that  I  shall  not  spend  all  the  remnant  of  my  days  in  Providence, 
unless  they  are  few  indeed.  .  .  .  The  labours  of  my  present  Situation, 
are,  I  feel  most  sensibly,  too  great  for  me  to  support. 

Providence  Feby  27th:  1786.  .  .  .  My  determination  to  accompany 
you  to  Kentucky  was  so  fixed,  that  I  was  making  my  arrangements 
for  it  before  your  Letter  arrived;  but  I  find  it  totally  impracticable 
to  procure  money  sufficient  for  my  Journey  &  to  supply  vc\\  Family 
during  my  Absence.  And,  of  course  I  miust  give  up  the  design  for 
this  year.  I  had  not  communicated  my  intentions  to  the  Corporation, 
nor  to  the  Church  &  Society;  nor  did  I  intend  doing  it  till  near  the 

C   83   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

time  of  my  departure,  as  I  did  not  intend  to  have  been  stopped  by 
any  remonstrances  from  that  quarter;  but  the  want  of  the  Unum  ne- 
cessarium  is  a  knock  me  down  Argument,  the  force  of  which  I  cannot 
resist.  .  .  .  You  cannot  imagine  how  much  I  have  been  pleased  with 
the  thoughts  of  being  your  companion  in  travel.  But  I  must  groan 
it  out  at  Providence,  for  ought  I  can  see,  for  the  present.  My  pros- 
pects here  are  not  more  chearing  than  heretofore.  I  expect,  with  all 
the  Oeconomy  of  which  I  am  Master  to  sink  money  again  this  year, 
unless  the  Corporation  grants  me  relief,  which  I  have  not  much  reason 
to  expect. 

Providence  July  23d:  1787  .  .  .  The  College  Horizen,  to  me,  is 
cloudy  at  Providence,  but  what  will  be  the  final  result  God  only 
knows.  I  expect  some  trying  scenes  between  this  &  Commencement. 
I  have  lately  expelled  two  Students,  for  a  flagrant  violation  of  the 
College  Laws,  one  of  them  a  senior,  is  of  this  Town  has  many  con- 
nections, and  amongst  them  some  of  the  most  powerfiil  families,  of 
these  some  by  Mr.  Howek  means,  who  has  seized  this  opportunity 
to  raise  a  clamour  against  me,  &  has  advised  them  to  appeal  to  the 
Corporation  for  a  reversal  of  our  Judgment,  are  warm,  this  they  are 
now  pursuing,  under  Howels  advice  &  assistance.  John  Brown  has 
become  interested  for  the  young  men,  &  though  he  wishes  to  do  me 
no  Injury,  I  expect  the  spirited  manner  in  which  he  has  taken  it  up 
will  carry  him  great  lengths.  He  has  conferred  with  me  several  times 
on  the  subject,  &  I  have  told  him  plainly  that  if  I  must  be  subject  to 
the  pointed  censure  of  David  Howel,  whether  I  execute,  or  dispense 
with  the  Laws  (which  has  been  of  late  the  case) ;  &  if  he  must  lay 
hold  of  ever^'  opportunity  to  injure  the  Authority  of  College,  &  be 
supported  in  it  by  the  influential  men  in  the  Corporation,  they  may 
take  the  Presidential  Chair  that  choses,  for  I  will  not  hold  it; — That 
I  will  [not]  be  browbeaten  by  that  mischief  making  man;  &  that  I 
do  not  care  two  pence  for  the  consequences.  What  will  be  the  issue 
of  this  affair  I  am  yet  to  learn,  but,  I  am  determined  to  resent  any 
affi-ont  offered  me  on  this  subject,  by  that  assiduous  Antagonist.  It  is 
the  opinion  of  many  that  he  wishes  to  displace  me  from  the  College. 
This  I  believe  is  the  truth;  but  it  is  not  so  agreeable  to  be  pushed  out. 

The  situation  soon  after  improved  in  every  respect,  and  the 
President  regained  his  usual  equanimity. 

C   84  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Commencements  Avere  resumed  in  1786,  when  a  class  of 
fifteen  took  their  degrees.  Tliis  year  the  seniors  first  \\ore 
academic  costume,  in  accordance  with  the  following  vote  of 
the  Corporation  on  March  13  :  "  Resolved  that  in  future  the 
Candidates  for  Bachelor's  Degrees,  being  Alumni  of  the  Col- 
lege, shall  be  clad  at  Commenct :  in  black,  flowing  robes.  &: 
caps,  similar  to  those  used  at  other  Universities. ' '  The  larg- 
est graduating  class  under  President  Manning  was  that  of 
1790,  numbering  twenty-two,  a  record  not  equaled  for  sev- 
eral years.  The  total  number  of  graduates  from  1786  to  1791 
was  ninety-two,  as  against  seventy-three  for  all  the  years  up 
to  that  time.  The  Commencement  of  1786  is  note^^'orthy  for 
the  presence  among  the  candidates  of  Nicholas  Brown,  Jr., 
the  future  benefactor  of  the  college,  who  appropriately  took 
for  the  subject  of  his  oration,  "The  Advantages  of  Com- 
merce." The  contact  of  these  early  Commencements  with 
contemporary  events  was  illustrated  in  this  year  by  the 
forensic  dispute  on  the  question,  "Whether  it  would  not 
have  been  better  for  America  to  have  remained  dependent 
on  Great-Britain ' '  and  by  a  "  Tribute  to  the  Memory  of  our 
late  departed  Friend  General  Greene."  The  procession  was 
made  splendid  by  the  presence  of  ' '  the  United  Company 
of  the  Train  of  Artillery,  under  Arms,  in  complete  Uni- 
form ' ' ;  and  the  catholicity  of  the  college  was  symbolized  by 
"a  Choir  of  Singers,  from  all  the  Societies  in  Town,"  who 
"performed"  ^n  anthem.  The  attendance  of  a  military 
company  and  of  singers  continued  to  be  features  of  Com- 
mencement for  several  years.  In  1787  two  innovations  ap- 
peared on  the  program,  an  oration  in  Greek  and  a  poem. 
The  latter,  "The  Prospects  of  America,"  M'ith  the  vale- 
dictory addresses  (also  in  verse),  was  by  Jonathan  Maxcy ; 
he  "was  induced  with  reluctance  to  consent  to  its  publica- 
tion," says  his  editor,  A\'ho  adds  that  at  Commencement  it 

C  «5   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

"gained  the  universal  Applause  of  a  large,  crouded  and  po- 
lite Assembly. ' '  The  urgent  political  problem  of  the  day  was 
discussed  by  one  of  the  orators,  who  spoke  "An  Oration  on 
the  present  Appearance  of  public  Aflfairs  in  the  United  States 
of  America,"  advocating  "the  great  foederal  Measures" 
then  being  so  hotly  debated  in  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion, urging ' '  the  Disuse  of  foreign  Goods, ' '  and  ' '  soliciting 
the  fair  Daughters  of  America  to  set  the  patriotic  Example 
...  by  banishing  from  their  Dress  the  costly  Gewgaws  and 
Articles  of  foreign  Production."  The  following  year  all  the 
members  of  the  Corporation  were  provided  with  seats  on 
the  stage.  This  change  threatened  to  crowd  the  graduat- 
ing class  off,  and  they  petitioned  to  be  allowed  to  sit  on  the 
stage,  like  former  classes ;  adding  that  they  hoped  for  a  fa- 
vorable answer, "  knowing  that  you,  as  well  as  themselves, 
are  interested  in  the  eclat  of  that  day. ' '  There  is  no  evidence 
whether  the  request  was  granted  or  not ;  but  in  1790  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  erect  a  stage  "for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  Corporation  &  Candidates  at  the  next  Commence- 
ment." 

The  interest  of  the  students  in  ' '  the  eclat  of  that  day ' ' 
sprang  in  part  from  the  fact  that  Commencement  was  to 
them  Class  Day  as  well.  This  aspect  of  the  occasion  was 
recognized  by  the  Corporation,  who  voted  on  September  6, 
178 7, "that  in  future  the  Salutatory  Oration  at  public  Com- 
mencements, be  assigned  by  the  President;  that  the  Valedic- 
tory and  intermediate  Orations,  be  assigned  by  the  Classes ; 
— And  that  the  Syllogistic  and  Forensic  Disputes,  and  such 
other  Exercises  as  they  may  judge  necessary,  be  assigned 
by  the  President  and  Tutors."  The  program  of  1788  may 
fairly  be  called  polyglot,  containing  orations  in  Hebrew, 
Greek,  Latin,  French,  and  English.  It  had  variety  in  other 
ways,  for  it  comprised  a  ' '  Poem  on  Liberty, ' '  a  "  Burlesque 

Z   86  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Poem,  on  Political  Projectors,"  a  "Tribute  to  the  Memory 
of  our  departed  Heroes,"  "A  Dialogue  in  blank  Verse,  on 
the  Situation  and  Prospects  of  America,"  a  "Comic  Dia- 
logue,—  to  ridicule  false  Learning,"  and  "A  Sketch  onCre- 
ation."  After  this  display  of  versatility  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  Corporation  voted,  the  next  day,"  that  the  Gradu- 
ates of  this  College  write,  or  procure  to  be  written  fair  copies 
of  their  Commencement  Exercises,  and  have  them  bound 
in  an  handsome  volume,  annually,  at  their  expence,  to  be 
deposited  in  the  College  Library." 

The  Providence  Gazette  in  speaking  of  this  Commence- 
ment noted  that  "as  the  Day  was  fine,  so  the  Concourse 
of  People  was  prodigious."  The  disorder  may  in  conse- 
quence have  been  greater  than  usual ;  at  any  rate  the  Cor- 
poration saw  fit  on  the  day  before  the  next  Commencement 
to  take  extra  precautions  for  the  maintenance  of  order,  vot- 
ing ' '  that  James  Arnold  Esquire  be  requested  to  take  charge 
of  the  Baptist  Meeting  House  to  morro^^,  &  that  Major 
Allen,  &  Mr:  Martin,  the  Deputy  Sheriffs  together  with 
the  Town  Seargeant  be  requested  to  assist  him,  with  such 
others  as  they  may  employ."  Even  these  formidable  safe- 
guards proved  not  enough,  and  in  1790  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  "apply  to  the  General  Assembly,  to  authorize 
and  direct  the  Sheriifof  the  County  of  Providence  to  attend 
on  this  Corporation,  on  Commencement  days,  in  future,  and, 
by  himself  or  deputies,  to  preserve  the  peace,  good  order, 
and  decorum,  on  Commencement  days,  in,  and  about  the 
Meeting  house,  in  which  the  Public  Commencement  may 
be  celebrated."  At  the  same  meeting  the  Corporation  tried 
to  strike  at  the  underlying  cause  of  much  of  the  disorder 
by  a  resolution  "That  it  be  recommended  to  the  Baptist 
Society,  in  future,  to  take  effectual  measures  to  prevent 
the  erection  of  Booths,  or  receptacles  for  liquors,  or  other 

L  87  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

things  for  sale,  and  other  disorderly  practices  on  the  Bap- 
tist Meeting-House  lot,  on  Commencement  days." 

The  Commencement  of  1790  was  notable  for  several 
things.  The  size  of  the  class  has  already  been  mentioned ; 
the  program  was  naturally  longer  than  any  before  it,  con- 
sisting of  thirteen  numbers,  and  the  subjects  were  curiously 
varied.  Moses  Brown,  Jr.,  true  to  the  traditions  of  his 
family,  spoke  an  oration  "On  the  History  of  Commerce 
and  Navigation  "  ;  Asa  Messer,  later  to  be  president,  grap- 
pled with  Job  Nelson  in  a  dispute  on  the  question,  "Would 
Mankind  have  been  more  happy  than  they  now  are,  had 
the  Earth  spontaneously  yielded  her  Fruits  necessary  for  the 
Support  of  Man"  ;  one  oration  consisted  of  "Reflections 
on  Happiness";  Franklin,  who  had  recently  died,  was 
made  the  subject  of  a  "Panegyric"  ;  a  candidate  for  the 
master's  degree  spoke  on  "The  Expediency  of  establish- 
ing a  Federal  University  in  America";  the  salutatorian 
followed  up  his  Latin  address  by  an  English  oration  ' '  con- 
gratulating the  State  of  Rhode  Island  upon  their  Acces- 
sion to  the  federal  Government ' ' ;  and  the  Greek  oration 
was  on  "The  Slave  Trade." 

The  event  referred  to  by  the  salutatorian  had  brought 
a  distinguished  visitor  to  Rhode  Island  a  few  weeks  before, 
in  the  person  of  George  Washington,  who  came  to  Provi- 
dence on  August  18,  accompanied  by  Jefferson,  his  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  other  public  men .  It  was  a  holiday  through- 
out the  town ;  and  in  the  evening,  according  to  the  Gazette^ 
"  the  President  and  many  others  took  a  Walk  on  the  Col- 
lege Green,  to  view  the  Illumination  of  that  Edifice,  which 
was  done  by  the  Students,  and  made  a  most  splendid  Ap- 
pearance." The  next  day  the  students  escorted  him  to  the 
college,  where  President  Manning  made  him  an  address 
of  welcome,  to  which  he  replied,  expressing  his  "ardent 

C   88   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

wishes  that  Heaven  may  prosper  the  literary  Institution 
under  your  care."  At  Commencement,  a  fortnight  h\ter, 
Washington  was  given  the  degree  of  LL.D. 

The  Commencement  of  1790  A\as  the  last  presided  over 
by  President  Manning.  For  some  time  before  his  death  he 
seems  to  have  had  intimations  that  his  work  was  almost 
done,  and  at  their  meeting  in  September,  1790,  according 
to  Howell,  he  requested  the  Corporation  to  make  arrange- 
ments to  fill  his  place;  but  the  end  came  suddenly  at 
last.  On  July  24,  1791,  A\'hile  at  family  prayers,  he  was 
stricken  with  apoplexy,  and  died  five  days  later.  The  Cor- 
poration met  at  once  and  arranged  for  the  funeral  service, 
which  occurred  the  followingday  at  thecollege.  A  great  num- 
ber of  the  Corporation  members,  graduates,  students,  and 
citizens  attended  the  body  to  the  North  Burying  Ground, 
where  it  was  laid  beside  that  of  Nicholas  Brown,  Sr.,  who 
had  died  a  few  months  before.  Howell  wrote  of  the  funeral, 
"It  was  the  largest  &  most  solemn  that  I  have  ever  seen 
in  this  place." 

A  sketch  of  President  Manning,  published  in  The  Pwm- 
deiice  Gazette  of  August  6,  and  attributed  to  Judge  Howell, 
said: 

His  Countenance  was  stately  and  majestic,  full  of  Dignity,  Goodness 
and  Gravit)^;  and  the  Temper  of  his  Mind  was  a  Counterpart  to  it. 
—  He  was  formed  for  Enterprize — his  Address  was  pleasing,  his 
Manners  enchanting,  his  Voice  harmonious,  and  his  Eloquence  almost 
irresistible.  .  .  .  The  good  Order,  Learning  and  Respectability,  of 
the  Baptist  Churches  in  the  Eastern  States,  are  much  owing  to  his 
assiduous  Attention  to  their  Welfare. — The  Credit  of  his  Name, 
and  his  personal  Influence  among  them,  perhaps  ha^•e  never  been  ex- 
ceeded by  any  other  Character.  ...  In  State  Affairs  he  discovered 
an  uncommon  Degree  of  Sagacity,  and  might  have  made  a  Fig- 
ure as  a  Politician.  In  classical  Learning  he  was  folly  competent  to 
the  Business  of  Teaching,  although  he  devoted  less  Time  than  some 

C   «9  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

others  in  his  Station  to  the  Study  of  the  more  abstruse  Sciences :  In 
short,  Nature  seemed  to  have  furnished  him  so  completely,  that  little 
remained  for  Art  to  accomplish.  The  Resources  of  his  Genius  were 
great.  In  Conversation  he  was  at  all  Times  pleasant  and  entertain- 
ing. He  had  as  many  Friends  as  Acquaintance,  and  took  no  less 
Pains  to  serve  his  Friends  than  acquire  them.  .  .  .  Few  Persons  ever 
enjoyed  a  more  excellent  Constitution,  or  better  Health.  Increasing 
Corpulence,  occasioned  chiefly  by  his  Confinement  to  the  Laboui-s 
of  his  Station  (for  he  was  temperate  in  his  Diet)  gave  him  some 
Complaints  of  ill  Health,  of  late  Years. 

This  sketch  may  be  confirmed  and  amplified  from  other 
sources. 

President  Manning's  countenance  is  well  known  from 
the  portrait  in  Sayles  Hall,  which  was  bequeathed  to  the 
college  by  Mrs.  Manning  at  her  death  in  1815.^  "Doctor 
Manning  was  32  years  old  when  his  picture  was  done," 
wrote  Solomon  Drowne,  his  pupil  and  close  friend.  "You 
will  see  it  was  not  the  production  of  an  eminent  artist, 
though  deemed  a  pretty  good  likeness  at  that  time.  He  wore 
his  own  graceful  hair,  and  there  was  a  dignity  in  his  port 
and  countenance  which  that  picture  by  no  means  reaches." 
The  suggestion  of  robust  vigor  in  the  portrait  is  confirmed 
by  tradition.  Professor  Goddard  says, ' '  He  sometimes  made 
his  o\v  n  stone  wall ;  and  in  the  use  of  the  scythe,  he  ac- 
knowledged no  superior  among  the  best  trained  laborers 
in  the  meadow."  His  prowess  as  a  maker  of  stone  walls  is 
attested  by  this  entry  on  the  Corporation  records  of  Sep- 
tember 3,  1777 :  "President  Manning  laid  before  the  Cor- 
poration an  Accompt  for  making  thirty  two  Rods  of  Stone 
wall  on  the  College  Land."  Even  in  his  later  years,  accord- 
ing to  one  of  his  pupils,  "his  motions  and  gestures  were  so 

Manning's  porti-ait,  and  that  of  Mrs.  Manning  which  hangs  beside  it,  were 
painted,  according  to  Dr.  Guild,  by  Cosmo  Alexander,  Gilbert  Stuart's  first 
teacher. 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

easy  and  graceful,  that  ordinary  observers  thought  not  of  his 
immense  vokime  of  flesh,  and  those  who  criticised,  admired 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  spontaneously  wielded."  His 
mingled  grace  and  dignity  when  presiding  at  Commence- 
ment are  said  to  have  called  forth  an  admiring  ' '  Natalis 
praesidere'' '  {roxn  a  French  gentleman  who  was  once  present. 

' '  He  was  of  the  most  happy  disposition  and  temperament 
—  always  cheerful — much  inclined  to  society  and  conver- 
sation," wrote  Ashur  Robbins,  Manning's  first  colleague 
after  the  Revolution ;  "  in  conversation  more  disposed  to 
pleasantry  than  seriousness;  fond  of  anecdote,  especially 
if  illustrative  of  character,  of  which  he  had  a  store."  The 
cheerfulness  and  animation  of  his  mind  in  lighter  moods  are 
well  illustrated  by  a  letter  of  May  5,  1773,  to  his  old  col- 
lege friend,  Hezekiah  Smith :  "Now  therefor,  as  I  am  tied 
to  College,  pray  take  Mrs.  Smith,  the  Heir  Apparent  &  the 
new  Chaise  and  come  and  take  your  Station  for  a  Week  or 
two,  on  the  Hill  of  Providence,  where  I  will  ensure  you  ex- 
cellent good  Water ;  the  best  my  House  affords  &  our  good 
Company — Pray  what  more  would  you  have?  If  any  thing, 
in  my  Power,  to  render  the  visit  still  more  agreeable,  depend 
on  it,  you  shan't  be  wanting  it — I  have  made  a  Tour  into 
ye  hither  Parts  of  Connecticut  this  Vacation,  &  preached 
15  times,  in  14  Days.  7  of  them  in  Presbyterian  Meedng 
Houses.  What  do  you  think  of  that?  See  what  it  is  to  be 
catholic  like  me ;  while  you  with  brandishing  Weapons  take 
the  field  of  Mars,  like  an  old  Veteran  that  scorns  to  let  his 
Sword  rust — Good  Success  to  you  if  you  must  draw." 

The  tolerant  breadth  of  mind  and  temper  which  Dr. 
Manning  here  playfully  claims  showed  itself  in  many  ways. 
In  his  charge  to  the  graduating  class  of  1773  he  said, 
"Challenge  the  glorious  prerogative  of  thinking  for  your- 
selves in  religious  matters,  and  generously  grant  to  others 

C   91    ] 


I 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

without  a  grudge  what  you  yoursehes  deem  the  dearest 
of  all  blessings."  What  he  preached  he  himself  practiced, 
within  the  limitations  of  his  day  and  place.  At  the  end  of 
a  controversial  letter  on  baptism  he  writes  thus  : ' '  You  may 
probably  esteem  me  rigid  from  this  Specimen,  &  greatly 
attached  to  Externals :  but  I  think  otherwise  of  myself ; 
I  think  I  love  the  followers  of  the  Lamb,  under  whatever 
Denomination  they  pass  amongst  Men.  I  esteem  them  my 
Brethren  ;  and  feel  disposed  to  make  all  proper  Allowances 
for  the  Prejudices  of  Institution,  and  ye  Weaknesses  of  hu- 
man Nature,  knowing  that  I  myself  also  am  in  the  Body; 
and  peculiarly  need  the  Candour  of  my  Xtn.  [=  Christian] 
friends."  It  was  consistent  with  this  spirit  that,  in  a  time 
marked  by  ardor  in  sectarian  theology.  Manning's  sermons 
were  practical  rather  than  doctrinal.  Mr.  Robbins  said, ' '  He 
occasionally  touched  and  dwelt  upon  some  doctrinal  point ; 
but  it  was  incidentally,  as  it  were,  and  subordinate  to  some 
practical  view,  the  scope  of  his  discourse." 

It  must  not  be  inferred,  however,  that  Manning  was  out 
of  sympathy  with  his  sect.  On  the  contrary  he  agreed  with 
it  in  all  essentials,  and  stoutly  stood  up  for  its  rights.  "Dr. 
Manning, ' '  wrote  Robbins, ' '  was  the  acknowledged  head  of 
the  Baptist  clergy  of  his  time.  He  \vas  so  considered  in  Eng- 
land as  well  as  in  this  country."  It  was  doubtless  in  rec- 
ognition of  his  leadership  that  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania gave  him  the  degree  of  D.D.  in  1785.  This  preem- 
inence was  of  course  due  in  part  to  his  position  as  president 
of  the  only  college  connected  with  the  denomination ;  but 
it  was  fundamentally  the  result  of  his  personal  gifts  —  his 
genuine  goodness,  his  breadth  of  mind,  his  administra- 
tive ability,  his  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  his  power 
as  a  writer  and  speaker.  Even  President  Ezra  Stiles,  in  the 
midst  of  a  prejudiced  estimate  of  Manning  in  his  diary, 

[   92   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

admits  that  he  was  "  somthg  in  Oratory  &  belles  Lettres," 
and  "a  popular  Preacher."  Of  his  fluency  and  power  as  a 
speaker  there  is  no  question.  President  Maxcy  said :  "His 
eloquence  Avas  forcible  and  spontaneous.  To  every  one 
who  heard  him,  ...  it  was  evident  that  the  resources  of  his 
mind  were  exceedingly  great."  Robbins  said:  "His  pul- 
pit discourses  were  all  ex  tempore.  .  .  .  His  manner  was 
earnest,  but  never  vehement.  He  made  no  effort  at  oratory, 
or  at  display  of  learning."  On  the  last  day  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts constitutional  convention,  Avhen  President  Man- 
ning was  invited  by  Governor  Hancock  to  offer  a  closing 
prayer,  he  poured  out  "a  strain  of  exalted  patriotism  and 
fervid  devotion,  which  awakened  in  the  assembly  a  mingled 
sentiment  of  admiration  and  awe."  Professor  Waterhouse, 
who  tells  the  incident,  adds  that  "  the  praise  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Manning  was  in  every  mouth,"  and  that ' '  nothing  but  the 
popularity  of  Dr.  Stillman  prevented  the  rich  men  of  Boston 
from  building  a  church  for  Dr.  Manning's  acceptance." 
David  Howell,  himself  a  member  of  Congress  and  a 
judge,  speaks  of  President  Manning's  capacity  for  public 
aflfairs.  His  fellow  citizens  recognized  this  ability  by  thrice 
intrusting  him  with  political  duties.  The  first  occasion,  dur- 
ing the  war,  has  already  been  described.  His  election  to  the 
federal  Congress  in  March,  1786,  is  said  by  Robbins  to 
have  come  about  because  bechanced  to  "look  in  upon  the 
Assembly ' '  one  afternoon  w^hen  there  was  a  vacancy  in  the 
delegation,  and  Commodore  Hopkins,  suddenly  struck  with 
his  fitness  for  the  place,  nominated  him  then  and  there. 
He  attended  to  his  political  duties  with  able  and  consci- 
entious thoroughness,  but  was  so  deeply  incensed  at  the 
conduct  of  the  state  in  neglecting  to  support  him,  either 
with  money,  colleague,  or  instructions,  that  a  congressional 
career  of  seven  months  A\as  more  than  enough  for  him.  He 

C   93   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

resigned  his  seat  on  October  25,  but  was  still  boiling  in 
January,  when  he  wrote  to  Hezekiah  Smith:  "The  Paper 
Money  of  this  State  has  run  down  to  6  for  one,  notwith- 
standing which  the  Legislature  continue  it  as  a  tender.  .  .  . 
At  the  last  Session  I  petitioned  them  to  pay  my  Advances, 
&  the  remainder  of  my  Salary  as  Delegate,  amounting  to 
upwards  of  400  Dollars,  this  they  offered  to  do  in  their 
paper,  but  no  other  way.  .  .  .  A  more  infamous  set  of  men , 
under  the  Character  of  a  Legislature,  never,  I  beleve,  dis- 
graced the  Annals  of  the  World. "  Yet  when  Rhode  Island, 
having  delayed  ratification  of  the  Constitution,  found  its 
exports  to  other  states  subject  to  a  tariff,  and  the  seaport 
towns  had  to  petition  Congress  for  exemption.  President 
Manning  was  chairman  of  the  committee  that  drafted  the 
petition  from  Providence,  and  was  one  of  the  delegates  ap- 
pointed to  present  the  document.  In  this  mission,  again, 
most  of  the  work  fell  upon  him,  and  his  zeal  and  shrewd- 
ness carried  it  through. 

Manning's  interest  in  public  affairs  was  so  deep,  and  his 
desire  for  a  stronger  national  government  so  great,  that  he 
worked  with  voice  and  pen  for  the  ratification  of  the  new 
Constitution.  Rewrote  to  Isaac  Backus  on  October  3 1 ,  1787, 
requesting  him  to  use  his  influence  to  have  the  minutes  of 
the  Baptist  Association  of  Philadelphia  "read  publicklyin 
all  the  Congregations"  in  order  that  "  by  the  notice  taken 
of  the  new  form  of  the  federal  Governmt :  recommended 
by  the  Convention,  our  friends  in  New  England  may  see 
the  remarkable  Unanimity  of  our  western  Brethren  in  the 
adoption  of  it."  On  February  11,  1788,  he  wrote  to  Heze- 
kiah Smith  :  "  I  felt  so  deeply  interested  in  the  adoption  of 
the  new  federal  constitution  by  your  State,  that  I  attended 
the  Debates  in  Convention  more  than  a  fortnight,  &  ex- 
pected to  have  seen  you  at  Boston  on  that  Occasion.  Icon- 
ic  94  J 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

sidered  Massachusetts  the  hinge  on  which  the  whole  must 
turn."  He  was  not  merely  a  spectator:  most  of  the  Baptist 
clerical  delegates  were  opposed  to  the  Constitution,  and  he 
labored  to  bring  them  over  to  the  federalist  side. 

President  Manning  also  did  public  service  in  connec- 
tion with  the  schools  of  Providence.  When  the  college  ^\•as 
founded  there  m  as  still  no  system  of  free  public  schools 
in  any  part  of  Rhode  Island.  In  1768  a  plan  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  four  free  schools  in  Providence  was  defeated  by 
popular  vote,  and  for  many  years  longer  the  town  had  none. 
Some  of  the  private  schools,  however,  received  aid  from  the 
public  funds  and  some  oversight  from  a  school  committee ; 
and  Manning  served  on  this  committee  for  many  years, 
much  of  the  time  as  chairman.  In  June,  1791,  a  petition 
■was  presented  in  town  meeting  for  the  establishment  of 
free  schools ;  it  was  referred  to  the  school  committee,  A\ho 
made  a  favorable  report  on  August  1,  two  days  after  Man- 
ning was  buried.  The  report,  which  was  signed  by  him  and 
was  doubtless  largely  or  wholly  his  work  as  chairman,  may 
be  considered  his  final  word  in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation to  which  he  had  devoted  his  life ;  and  although  free 
schools  were-  not  established  in  Providence  until  nine  years 
later,  this  report  of  Manning's  must  have  helped  to  prepare 
the  way. 

As  administrator  of  thecollege.  President  Manning's  suc- 
cess was  freely  recognized  by  his  contemporaries.  Howell, 
in  a  letter  of  August  3,  1791,  speaks  of  his  being  "cele- 
brated for  many  shining  abilities  which  peculiarly  qualified 
him  to  preside,"  and  says,  "We  are  apprehensive  that 
the  Institution  may  suffer  a  temporary  relapse  unless  some 
known  &  established  Character  can  be  induced  to  supply 
the  Vacancy  soon."  Isaac  Backus  wrote  to  an  English 
friend  on  August  19,  1791,  "We  have  no  idea  of  obtain- 

C   95   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ing  any  man  mHo  will  equal  President  Manning  in  all  re- 
spects, at  least  soon,"  and  specifies  his  "gift  of  governing 
so  as  to  be  both  feared  and  beloved  by  all ' '  as  one  of  the 
things  which  "rendered  him  the  most  accomplished  man 
for  that  station  of  any  one  that  I  ever  saw."  President 
Maxcy  said,  "In  the  College  over  which  he  presided,  his 
government  was  mild  and  peaceful ;  conducted  by  that  per- 
suasiA'e  authority,  which  secures  obedience  while  it  concil- 
iates esteem." 

In  scholarship  Manning  was  not  great :  he  was  too  busy 
for  that.^  His  own  description  of  his  manner  of  Hfe,  as  re- 
ported by  Dr.  Waterhouse,  helps  one  to  realize  how  crowded 
his  days  were : 

I  shall  never  forget  what  Dr.  Manning,  in  great  good  humor,  told 
me  were  among  his  tiying  "experiences."  He  told  me  that  ...  he 
performed  all  the  duties  of  President  of  the  College;  heard  two  classes 
recite,  every  day;  listened  to  complaints,  foreign  and  domestic,  fi-om 
undergraduates  and  their  parents  of  both  sexes,  and  answered  them, 
now  and  then,  b}'  letter;  waited,  generally,  on  all  transient  visiters 
into  college,  &c.  &c.  Nor  was  this  all.  "  I  made,"  said  Dr.  Manning, 
"my  own  garden  and  took  care  of  it;  repaired  my  dilapidated  walls; 
went  nearly  eveiy  day  to  market;  preached  twice  a  week,  and  some- 
times oftener;  attended,  by  solicitation,  the  funeral  of  ever)^  baby  that 
died  in  Providence;  visited  the  sick  of  my  own  Societ}^  and,  not  un- 
frequently,  the  sick  of  other  Societies;  made  numerous  parochial  visits, 
the  poorest  people  exacting  the  longest,  and,  in  case  of  any  seeming 
neglect,  finding  fault  the  most." 

But  although  not  a  profound  student  of  any  one  subject,  he 
was  a  good  all-round  scholar,  as  his  standing  in  New  Jer- 
sey College  showed,  with  special  gifts  in  the  languages  and, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  oratory.  Dr.  Stiles  admitted  that  "He 
was  a  pretty  good  Linguist,"  praise  which  meant  much, 

^  The  inventory  of  his  effects  after  his  death  estimates  his  books  and  maps 
at  £15  IP  6d,  or  less  than  $52. 

[   96  3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN   UNIVERSITY 

coming  from  so  learned  a  man.  Robbins  gave  this  interest- 
ing reminiscence  of  him  as  a  teacher:  "I  well  recollect  to 
have  heard  the  students  of  the  classes  whom  he  chose  to 
take  through  Longinus  particularly,  often  speak  with  admi- 
ration of  his  comments  upon  that  author,  and  of  the  happy 
and  copious  illustrations  he  gave  of  the  principles  from 
which  Longinus  deduces  the  sublime.  I  could  readily  be- 
lieve the  admiration  \\as  merited;  for  I  know  he  had  paid 
great  attention  to  the  general  principles  of  oratory,  and  par- 
ticularly to  those  of  elocution,  of  which  he  was  an  admir- 
able preceptor."  An  example  of  his  thought  and  style  in 
his  lectures  on  philosophy,  taken  from  Solomon  Drowne's 
note-book  (copied  from  TheodoreFoster's)of  the  year  1772, 
may  aid  us  in  estimating  Manning's  power  as  a  teacher : 

If  we  take  a  short  Survev  of  the  World  we  live  on;  What  a  glorious 
Proof  of  the  divine  Existence  is  the  Air  ?  That  soft,  thin  and  veild- 
ing  Body,  so  fit  for  vital  Motion,  that  it  seems  the  \'eiy  Nourishment 
of  Life,  and  so  transparent  that  the  Rays  of  the  Sun  pass  thro'  it  with- 
out anv  Difficulty ;  tho'  placed  at  an  immense  Distance  ?  What  Wisdom 
tempered  it  so  nicely,  as  at  once  to  be  a  proper  Vehicle  for  Light,  and 
Nutriment  for  Life  ?  Wliat  Power  has  made  it  so  thin  and  fluid  an 
Element,  the  safe  Repository  of  Thunder  and  Lightning,  Winds  and 
Tempests  ?  By  what  skilful  Hand  is  the  Water,  which  is  drawn  from 
the  Sea,  curiously  distilled,  and  bottled  up  in  the  Clouds,  to  be  sent 
on  the  Wings  of  the  Wind,  and  scattered  over  the  Face  of  the  Earth 
in  gentle  Showers?  .  .  .  Who  painted  and  perfumed  the  Flowers? 
How  comes  it  that  the  same  Water  or  Air,  dies  them  ^vith  different 
Colours,  the  scarlet,  the  purple,  the  carnation,  and  whence  ha%"e  the^' 
those  sweet  Odours  which  they  breath  with  insensible  subtlet}',  and 
diffiise  into  the  Air  for  our  Delight? 

It  is  probable  that,  whatever  the  subject,  his  deepest  interest, 
even  in  the  class-room,  was  not  intellectual  but  ethical  and 
religious.  Simeon  Doggett,in  his  "Oration,  on  the  Death 
of  the  Rev.  President  Manning"  at  the  Commencement  of 

C  97  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

1 79 1 ,  said :  ' '  How  naturally  at  our  College  exercises  would 
a  very  slight  connection  lead  his  discourse  to  moral  and  reli- 
gious subjects !  Upon  these  subjects,  with  what  additional 
ardor  would  he  discourse !  These  occasions  seemed  to  add 
new  life  to  his  faculties.  They  would  add  warmth  to  his 
heart,  brightness  to  his  understanding,  and  eloquence  to  his 
tongue." 

It  remains  to  sketch  the  inner  life  of  the  college  during  the 
administration  of  President  Manning.  The  Laws  of  1783, 
printed  in  the  Appendix,  give  a  comprehensive  view,  and 
may  serve  as  a  background  to  the  sketch. 

The  spirit  in  which  the  institution  was  administered  by 
the  Corporation  deserves  mention  at  the  outset.  The  work 
that  the  first  fellows  and  trustees  did,  with  small  means  and 
in  the  face  of  great  difficulties,  must  forever  claim  admira- 
tion and  gratitude  ;  and  in  particular  they  deserve  praise  for 
standing  so  consistently  by  the  principle  of  religious  free- 
dom laid  down  in  the  charter.  At  the  first  annual  meeting 
in  the  city  of  Roger  Williams,  on  September  6,  1770,  they 
voted  "That  the  Children  of  Jews  may  be  admitted  into 
this  Institution  and  intirely  enjoy  the  freedom  of  their  own 
Religion,  without  any  Constraint  or  Imposition  whatever." 
In  candor  it  should  be  added  that  the  vote  was  called  forth 
by  an  inquiry  from  a  Jewish  merchant  in  South  Carolina, 
who  sent  a  small  gift,  and  said  that  if  the  rumored  catholi- 
city of  the  new  college  was  a  fact,  his  liberality  should  "ex- 
ceed beyond  ye :  bounds  of  yr :  Imagination . ' '  The  Corpora- 
tion must  have  known,  however,  that  catholicity  might  repel 
as  well  as  attract  gifts.  At  all  events  they  stood  loyally  by 
the  charter ;  and  although  nothing  more  was  heard  from  the 
prospective  benefactor,  they  took  care  to  guard  jealously  the 
religious  scruples  of  Jews,  Quakers,  and  members  of  other 
sects,  as  the  following  extracts  from  the  Laws  of  1 774  prove : 

[98   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

That  ever\^  Student  attend  jDiihlick  Worship  cvtry^  fii-st  Day  of  the 
Week  steadily  at  such  Places  as  he,  his  Parents  or  Guardians  shall 
think  proper;  provided  that  any  who  do  not  attend  with  any  Officers 
of  Instruction,  produce  Vouchers  when  Demanded  of  his  steady  & 
orderh'  Attendance. 

N .  .  B .  .  Such  as  regularly  &  statedly  keep  the  Seventh  Day,  as  a 
Sabbath,  are  excepted  fi-om  this  Law ;  &  are  onh-  required  to  abstain 
from  Secular  Concerns  which  would  interupt  their  felloAV  Students. 

That,  no  Student  wear  his  hat  within  the  College  Walls;  excepting 
those  who  steadily  attend  the  F[r]iends  Meeting. 

That  if  any  Student  of  this  College  shall  deny  the  being  of  a  God, 
the  Existence  of  Virtue  and  Vice ;  or  that  the  Books  of  the  old  and 
new  Testament  are  of  di^•ine  Authority,  or  Suggest  anv  Scruples  of 
that  Nature  or  circulate  Books  of  such  pernicious  Tendency,  or  fie- 
quent  the  Company  of  those  who  are  known  to  fa\'our  such  fatal 
Errors,  He  shall  for  the  second  Offence  be  absoluteh'  and  fore\'er 
expelld  from  this  College.  Young  gentlemen  of  the  Hebrew  nation 
are  to  be  excepted  from  this  Law. 

From  the  last  law  it  is  manifest  that  the  Corporation's  lib- 
erality did  not  extend  to  deists  and  atheists,  \\ho  must  sup- 
press their  opinions  or  leave  the  college.  Herein  they  fell  short 
of  the  spirit  of  Roger  Williams,  with  his  magnificent  dec- 
laration that  "It  is  the  will  and  command  of  God,  that  .  .  . 
a  permission  of  the  most  Paganish^  Jewish,  Turkish  or  ^'l?ifi- 
christian  consciences  and  worships,  bee  granted  to  all  men  in 
all  Nations2iV\^  Countries ^  They  were,  hoAvever,  within  the 
letter  of  the  charter,  since  atheists  and  deists  do  not  belong 
to  any  "Religious  Denominations' ' ;  and  the  preamble  to  the 
law  shows  that  they  based  their  action  on  the  broad  ground 
that  infidelity  was  a  moral  pest,  which  it  was  their  duty  to 
keep  out  of  the  college. 

In  another  important  respect  the  Corporation  and  the  Pres- 
ident acted  in  absolute  harmony  with  the  unsectarian  proyi- 
sions  of  the  charter.  No  sectarian  instruction  in  the  class- 

C   99   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

room  was  allowed  or  attempted.  The  college  was  assailed 
from  time  to  time  as  narro^^•,  as  wholly  under  the  control  of 
the  Baptists,  as  building  with  public  funds  a  parsonage  for 
a  Baptist  minister,  etc.  ;  but  no  enemy,  so  far  as  is  known, 
ever  accused  it  of  making  sectarian  principles  a  part  of  the 
course  of  study.  Solomon  Drowne's  note-book  affords  direct 
proof  that  President  Manning,  in  his  lectures  on  natural 
theology  and  the  credibility  of  miracles,  avoided  the  least 
reference  to  the  distinctive  tenets  of  the  Baptists. 

As  interpreters  and  administrators  of  the  charter  in  its 
relation  to  the  officers  of  government  and  instruction,  the 
Corporation  evinced  a  broad  spirit.  When  electing  members 
and  officers  of  their  own  body,  they  interpreted  generously 
the  terms  describing  the  different  religious  denominations, 
making  no  distinction  between  the  various  stripes  of  Bap- 
tists, not  inquiring  into  the  orthodoxy  of  Congregationalists, 
and  putting  into  the  chancellorship  a  man  whose  stand- 
ing in  his  own  sect,  the  Quakers,  was  at  least  doubtful.  In 
the  clause  of  the  charter  declaring  that  places  on  the  Fac- 
ulty, that  of  the  president  excepted,  shall  be  "open  for  all 
Denominations  of  Protestants,"  they  interpreted  "Protes- 
tants" to  include  Jews;  for  in  a  letter  drafted  by  Manning 
at  the  direction  of  the  Corporation,  in  1770,  replying  to  the 
inquir}^  of  the  Jewish  merchant,  the  committee  express  will- 
ingness to  appoint  a  Jew  as  professor  of  Hebrew.  Twelve 
years  later,  in  a  rough  draft  of  a  letter  to  a  French  noble- 
man, Manning  asks  him  to  assure  the  French  king  that 
the  charter's  discrimination  against  Roman  Catholics  on  the 
Faculty  was  adopted  in  ' '  the  Times  of  our  Ignorance, ' '  and 
that  if  the  state  constitution  were  amended  so  as  to  remove 
all  disabilities  from  Roman  Catholics,  as  then  seemed  prob- 
able, he  had  small  doubt  that  the  college  charter  would  be 
amended  also.  This  passage  in  the  letter  was  finally  can- 

[     lOO    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

celed,  but  at  least  it  showed  the  spirit  of  the  head  of  the 
Corporation.  In  the  appointments  which  Mere  actually  made 
to  the  Faculty  no  sectarian  narro\\ness  appears.  Of  the  seven 
tutors  in  Manning's  time,  four  were  not  Baptists;  and  when 
it  was  necessary  to  choose  a  vice-president  during  Man- 
ning's absence  in  Congress,  the  Corporation  selected  a  Con- 
gregationalist  clergyman,  M'hom  they  soon  after  made  pro- 
fessor of  natural  philosophy.  In  bestowing  honorary  degrees, 
also,  they  showed  the  same  liberality;  although  a  decided 
majority  went  to  leading  Baptist  clergymen  at  home  and 
abroad,  as  was  natural  enough  when  they  were  trying  to 
arouse  interest  in  the  college  throughout  the  denomina- 
tion, yet  thirteen  were  given  to  clergymen  of  other  folds, 
including  three  of  the  English  Church  —  Henry  Foster  of 
Oxford  University,  John  Newton,  Cowper's  friend,  and 
Augustus  Toplady,  the  hymn-writer — and  one  Unitarian, 
the  pastor  of  King's  Chapel,  Boston. 

The  personnel  of  the  Corporation  changed  greatly  during 
Manning's  administration,  twelve  fellows  and  thirty-six 
trustees  resigning  or  dying.  At  the  death  of  Stephen  Hop- 
kins in  1785,  Jabez  Bowen,  a  graduate  of  Yale  and  a  for- 
mer chief  justice  of  the  Rhode  Island  supreme  court,  was 
chosen  chancellor.  Dr.  Eyres  resigned  the  secretaryship  in 
1776,  and  was  succeeded  by  Thomas  Arnold,  A\ho  served 
until  1780,  when  David  Howell  \^^as  elected.  The  first  treas- 
urer held  office  only  three  years ;  Job  Bennet  served  until 
1775,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  Brown. 

No  record  exists  of  the  requirements  for  admission  to 
Rhode  Island  College  before  the  Revolution,  but  it  is  safe 
to  assume  that  they  were  similar  to  those  in  New  Jersey 
College  at  the  time  Manning  was  a  student  there.  The  re- 
quirements at  the  latter  in  1764,  at  least,  were  almost  iden- 
tical with  the  following  at  Providence  in  1783  :  "No  person 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

may  expect  to  be  admitted  into  this  College,  unless,  upon 
examination  by  the  President  and  Tutors,  he  shall  be  found 
able  to  read  accurately  construe  and  parse  Tully  and  the 
Greek  Testament,  and  Virgil;  and  shall  be  able  to  write 
true  Latin  in  prose,  and  hath  learned  the  rules  of  Prosody 
and  Vulgar  Arithmatic ;  and  shall  bring  suitable  Testimony 
of  a  blameless  life  &  conversation."  The  requirements  at 
King's  College  in  1755  and  at  Yale  in  1759  were  similar. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  work  for  admission,  although  of 
very  limited  range,  was  definite,  and  the  examination  tested 
power  rather  than  memory ;  if  the  conditions  were  enforced, 
the  freshmen  of  those  days  must  have  had  a  real  command 
of  the  Latin  language.  How  much  of  each  Latin  author  w  as 
read  cannot  be  determined ;  at  King's  College  three  orations 
of  Cicero  and  the  first  three  books  of  the  Aeneid  were  spe- 
cified, and  that  may  have  been  the  usual  amount. 

The  curriculum  also  was  restricted  in  range.  Our  know- 
ledge of  it  in  the  early  years  of  Manning's  administration 
is  derived  almost  entirely  from  the  following  memoranda 
collected  by  a  descendant  from  the  papers  of  Solomon 
Drowne,  of  the  class  of  1773  ;  it  should  be  observed  that  he 
was  in  college  only  a  little  more  than  three  years,  and  that 
the  record  of  his  last  year  is  incomplete : 

1770.  After  examination  in  June,  by  the  Rev.  James  Manning  and 
Prof.  David  Howell,  entered  Rhode  Island  College  July  2d.  Began 
Horace,  Longinus  &  Lucian  in  October,  and  French  in  December. 

1771.  .  .  .  Commenced  Geography  in  Januar}^;  Xenephon  in  Feb- 
ruary; Watts  Logic  in  May;  Ward's  Orator}^  in  June;  Homer's 
Iliad  in  July;  Duncan's  Logic  in  August;  Longinus  in  October; 
Hill's  Arithmetic  same  month;  Hammond's  Algebra  and  British 
Grammar  in  December. 

1772.  Began  Ethics,  Januar}';  Euclid's  Elements,  February,  also 
Metaphysicks,  Trigonometiy,  Cicero  de  Oratore;  Martin's  Philoso- 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

phy  in  May;  Martin's  Use  of  the  Globes,  August;  Hebrew  Gram- 
mar, December. 

The  Laws  of  1 783  give  the  whole  course  of  study  at  that 
time  as  follows : 

The  President  and  Tutoi-s,  according  to  their  judments,  shall  teach 
and  instruct  the  several  Classes  in  the  learned  Languages  and  in  the 
liberal  Aits  and  Sciences,  together  with  die  vernacular  Tongus — 
The  following  are  the  clasics  appointed  for  the  fii^st  year,  in  Latin, 
Virgil,  Cicero's  Orations  and  Horace,  all  in  usum  Delphini.  In  Greek, 
the  new  Testament,  Lucians  Dialogues  &  Zenophon's  C^Topaedia ;  — 
For  the  second  year,  in  Latin,  Cicero  de  Oratore  &  Caesai-s  Com- 
mentaries;—  In  Greek  Homer's  Iliad  &  Longinus  on  the  sublime,  to- 
gether with  Lowth's  vernacular  Grammar,  Rhetoric,  Wards  Oratory, 
Sheridan's  Lectm-es  on  Elocution,  Guthrie's  Geography,  Kaims  Ele- 
ments of  Criticism,  Watts's  and  Duncan's  Logic. —  For  the  third 
)-ear,  Hutchinsons  moral  Philosoph}',  Dodridges  Lectures,  Fennings 
Arithmatic,  Hammonds  Algebra,  Stones  Euclid,  Martins  Trigonom- 
etry^, Loves  Surveying,  Wilsons  Navigation,  Martins  Phllosophia  Bri- 
tannica,  &  Ferguson's  Astronomy,  with  Martin  on  the  Globes.  —  In 
the  last  year,  Locke  on  the  Undei-standing,  Kennedy's  Chronolog}- 
and  BoUingbroke  on  History;  and  the  Languages,  Arts  &  Sciences, 
studied  in  the  foregoing  jears,  to  be  accurately  reveiwed. 

Oral  examinations  were  held  quarterly. 

An  extract  from  a  letter  of  the  President  on  March  18, 
1784,  gives  a  more  intimate  idea  of  the  teaching  of  these 
subjects  : 

If  Mr  Wood  means  to  enter  the  Sophimore  Class  next  Fall  I  advise 
him  to  read  with  great  Attention  Cicero  &  the  Greek  Testat:  and  make 
himself  Master  of  the  Grammar  of  each  Language;  also  to  study  with 
great  Attention  Lowth's  English  Grammar,  &  Sterling's,  or  Turner's 
Rhetoric,  as  preparatory  to  Wards  Orator}^ — To  read  Horace,  & 
Zenophon's  C\Topedia,  &  accustom  himself  to  compose  in  English. 
We  use  Guthrie's  Geography  &  Watts  &  Duncan's  Logic :  But  we 
don't  commonly  study  those  before  the  2d  Year,  as  we  wish  to  have 
their  Knowledge  in  the  Languages  well  advanced  in  the  first  Year. 

C    103   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Should  the  Class  advance  faster,  I  will  let  you  know.  I  think  a  further 
Attention,  at  present,  to  mathematical  Studies,  may  not  he  advan- 
tageous. 

What  strikes  the  modern  reader  most  forcibly  on  a  first 
view  of  this  course  of  study  is  its  meagerness.  English  liter- 
ature, other  modern  languages  and  literatures,  most  of  the 
natural  sciences,  and  all  the  social  sciences  are  absent,  and 
slight  attention  is  given  to  history  and  metaphysics.  But  on 
further  inspection  it  seems  even  more  singular  that  relatively 
so  little  time,  after  all,  is  allotted  to  Greek  and  Latin.  They 
do  not  appear  in  the  last  two  years,  except  by  way  of  review 
in  the  senior  year;  and  in  the  first  two  years,  although  they 
receive  the  greater  share  of  the  time,  only  four  Latin  and 
four  Greek  authors  are  studied,  the  dramatists,  historians, 
and  philosophers  being  totally  untouched.  Another  surprise 
is  that  mathematics  is  taken  up  so  late  in  the  course,  and 
carried  such  a  little  way,  arithmetic,  algebra,  geometry,  and 
their  applications  all  being  crowded  into  the  junior  year. 
In  the  curriculum,  as  in  the  entrance  requirements,  the  ex- 
ample of  New  Jersey  College  was  followed;  but  the  studies 
in  the  other  Amercian  colleges  were  substantially  similar, 
although  at  Harvard  and  King's  College  there  was  a  some- 
what wider  range  in  the  classics. 

One  important  feature  of  the  curriculum,  the  training  in 
English  composition  and  public  speaking,  is  not  adequately 
shown  by  the  preceding  statements.  John  Brown,  in  resign- 
ing from  the  Corporation  in  1 803 ,  wrote, ' '  The  most  beauti- 
ful and  handsome  mode  of  speaking  was  a  principal  Object, 
to  my  certain  knowledge,  of  the  first  Friends  to  this  Col- 
lege." His  statement  is  borne  out  by  these  provisions  in  the 
Laws  of  1774:  "That,  every  evening  two  shall  pronounce 
on  the  Stage,  begining  with  the  Senior  Class  and  proceeding 
Alphabitecaly  down  through  all  the  Classes.  .  .  .  That,  on 

[    104   3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  first  Wednesdayof  every  Month  each  Student  shall  pub- 
lickly  pronounce  an  Oration,  which  he  shall  have  previously 
Committed  to  Memory.  .  .  .  The  Senior  &  Junior  Classes 
shall  each  of  them  write  a  Dispute  every  Week,  &  read  the 
same,  upon  such  Subjects  as  shall  be  appointed  them."  In 
the  Laws  of  1783  it  is  specified  that  at  the  monthly  speaking 
the  two  upper  classes  shall  make  use  of  their  own  composi- 
tions"; and  it  is  added  that  "all  the  members  of  the  College 
shall  meet  every  Wednesday  afternoon  in  the  Hall,  at  the 
ringing  of  the  Bell  at  2  OClock,  to  pronounce  before  the 
President  &  Tutors,  pieces  well  committed  to  memory,  that 
they  may  receive  such  corrections  in  their  manner,  as  shall 
be  judged  necessary."  This  emphasis  upon  public  speaking 
was  then  common  in  American  colleges,  which  were  educat- 
ing men  chiefly  for  the  ministry  and  the  law,  in  times  that  put 
a  high  value  upon  skill  in  the  use  of  ^•oice  or  pen.  The  train- 
ing was  not  wholly  in  English,  for  in  addition  to  translation 
from  the  classic  languages  there  were  frequent  ' '  disputes ' ' 
in  Latin.  One  of  the  Laws  of  1774  says  that  "  Latin  Syllo- 
gistic disputes  are  to  be  kept  up  &  duly  cultivated."  How 
often  they  occurred  is  not  certain,  but  there  must  have 
been  a  good  deal  of  practice  if  the  students  were  to  acquit 
themselves  well  in  the  Latin  dispute  which  before  the  Revo- 
lution formed  a  part  of  every  Commencement  program.^ 

It  was  "omitted  for  want  of  time"  in  1786,  and  then  dropped  altogether.  Rut 
thecustom  of  printing  on  a  "  broadside ' '  a  formidable  list  of  I^itin  theses,  wliicli 
the  candidates  for  degrees  were  supposed  to  be  ready  to  defend  against  all 
comers — a  curious  survival  from  the  Middle  Ages  —  lasted  well  into  the  next 
century.  In  pre-Revolutionary  days  one  of  these  theses  was  the  subject  of  the 
I^tin  disputation  at  Commencement;  and  another,  turaed  into  English  for 
the  benefit  of  the  unlearned,  was  debated  in  the  vernacular.  On  the  broadside 
the  two  theses  wliich  were  to  be  discussed  were  printed  in  italics  or  large  type ; 
in  1769  the  subject  for  the  debate  about  American  independence  was  thus 
phrased  :  "  Americanos  in  rerum  statu  pi-aesenti  res  novas  moliri,  Reipublicae 
administrandae  solertiae  male  convenit."  The  tlieses  were  grou])ed  under 
many    heads  — "  Grammaticii,"    "  Rhetorica,"    "  Logica,"    "  Mathesis," 

C  105  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

The  method  of  instruction  in  all  subjects  was  chiefly 
by  recitations  from  textbooks,  but  in  philosophy  and  logic, 
at  any  rate,  the  President  supplemented  the  textbook  by 
lectures  of  his  own ;  and  the  professors  appointed  after  the 
Revolution  gave  lectures  only.  The  President's  lectures  in 
philosophy,  so  far  as  Drowne's  note-book  reproduces  them, 
contained  a  compact  and  clear,  though  rather  superficial, 
resume  of  the  more  important  doctrines  of  psychology,  in- 
tellectual and  moral  philosophy,  ontology,  and  natural  the- 
ology. The  shortness  of  the  course  is  shown  by  Drowne's 
memorandum  on  the  front  cover :  ' '  Began  to  write  it  Feb- 
uary  ye:  1st:  Began  to  Study  it  Feby.  ye:  26th:  :  Anno 
Domini  1772 — Finish  studying  it.  March  ye:  6th.  1772." 
On  the  back  cover  is  the  entry,  "Our  Class  say  the  last 
Recitation  in  this  Book.  March  ye:  6th.  Domini  1772." 

The  sciences,  so  far  as  they  were  taken  up  at  all,  must 
have  been  studied  mainly  from  textbooks,  for  laboratory 
work  was  impossible;  but  Corporation,  Faculty,  and  stu- 
dents early  realized  the  need  of  apparatus  for  the  perform- 
ance of  illustrative  experiments.  The  Corporation  in  1768 
requested  the  President  to  write  to  Morgan  Edwards,  then 
collecting  funds  in  Great  Britain,  and  ask  him  to  "pur- 
chase an  Air-Pump  a  Telescope  and  a  Microscope  out  of 
the  Monies  at  any  Time  in  his  Hands  by  the  Consent  of 
the  Donors,"  the  money  to  be  replaced  by  funds  raised 
in  America.  The  next  year  the  students  showed  scientific 
ardor  and  business  enterprise  by  circulating  a  subscription 
paper  with  the  following  preamble : 

Physica, "  "  ITieologia, "  "  Politia, ' '  etc. ,  —  and  included  all  sorts  of  topics, 
from  favorite  problems  of  the  schoolmen  to  burning  contemporary  questions, 
such  as  the  lawfulness  of  the  slave  trade  ("Africanorum  invectio  coloniis  hisce 
nostris  incommoda  est  et  illicita  ") ,  or  the  tyi-anny  of  taxation  without  repre- 
sentation ("  Senatui  populis  vectigalia  imponendi,  qui  in  illo  senatu  non  reprae- 
sentantur,  jus  non  est")- 

C    1°6  J 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Whereas  there  are  a  Number  of  Students  in  Rhode  Island  College, 
engaged  in  the  Study  of  natural  PhilosophA',  &  desirous  of  pursuing 
the  same  to  the  greatest  Adxantage ;  and  Sd :  College,  by  Reason  of 
it's  present  infant  State,  is  destitute  of  some  Conveniences,  which  others 
on  the  Continent  enjoy — 

These  are  therefore  to  Solicit  all  Gentlemen,  who  are  well- Wishers 
to  the  Design,  to  Contribute  towards  purchasing  an  Electrical  Aj^j^a- 
ratus,  which  would  be  of  immediate  Utility  to  the  Students,  &  Ciui- 
osit^'  to  such  transient  Gentlemen,  as  have  tum'd  their  Attention  to  the 
popular  Subject  of  Electricity. 

N.B.  An  Account  of  the  Subscribers,  will  be  enter'd  upon  the  Gen- 
eral List  of  Donors,  to  Sd :  College. 

Warren,  19th.  of  August,  1769. 

Nine  students  subscribed  £2  11",  and  two  "Gentlemen  of 
Newport"  and  seven  of  Warren  £514%  making  a  total 
of  £8  5%  or  $27.50.  Some  if  not  all  of  these  instruments 
were  secured,  for  in  a  letter  of  February  21,  1772,  Presi- 
dent Manning  wrote : ' '  Our  Apparatus  consists  of  a  pair  of 
Globes,  two  Microscopes  and  an  Electrical  Machine:  to  this 
we  are  desirous  of  making  the  Addition  of  an  Air  Pump,  if 
one  reputable  can  be  purchased  for  £22.10  Sterl:;  a  Sum 
which  two  young  Gentleme  [n]  informed  me  they  intended 
to  give  towards  an  Apparatus,  or  Library."  The  college 
owned  a  telescope  in  1782,  as  appears  in  a  letter  of  July  13 
from  Joseph  Brown  to  David  Howell : '  'I  dont  know  whether 
I  ever  told  you  of  the  Ingury  our  Tellescope  has  receved  in 
attempting  to  have  the  tarnish  or  rust  taken  off  the  mettal 
Speculums  .  .  .  When  I  come  to  putt  them  to  tryal  I  could 
see  through  the  Tellescope  scarcely  at  all  but  only  jest  bearly 
to  descearn  a  large  object  very  indistinctly  and  so  this  Ex- 
elent  instrument  has  been  rendered  totally  usless  for  about 
a  year." 

It  may  have  been  the  condition  of  the  telescope  which 
incited  John  Brown  and  other  members  of  the  Corporation 

[   107  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

to  raise  a  sum  for  the  purchase  of  the  "compleat  Philo- 
sophical Apparatus "  in  1783.  B}'  Manning's  letters  in  the 
following  year  we  learn  some  particulars  about  these  new 
instruments.  On  March  18  he  writes:  "The  Air-Pump 
with  its  Apparatus  complete  is  arrived.  It  cost  £50  Sterlg: 
in  London,  &  is,  perhaps,  the  completest  in  America,  made 
on  the  New  Construction.  Mr  Joseph  Brown  has  not  yet 
compleated  his  List  of  the  Apparatus,  for  want  of  some 
Information,  on  that  Subject,  which  he  has  not  yet  been 
able  to  obtain . ' '  On  September  13  he  writes :  ' '  The  amount 
of  upwards  of  £200  Sterl :  was  also  ordered  in  a  necessary 
philosophical  Apparatus,  in  Addition  to  what  we  already 
have — Consisting  chiefly  of  a  Telescope,  an  Air  Pump  & 
its  Apparatus,  Globes,  &  a  Thermometer." 

For  many  years  the  college  was  almost  as  destitute  of 
books  as  of  scientific  apparatus.  In  1768  Morgan  Edwards 
was  authorized  to  buy  in  Great  Britain  ' '  such  Books  as  he 
shall  think  necessary  at  this  Time  not  exceeding  Twenty 
Pounds  value."  No  other  appropriation  for  books  was  made 
until  1784,  and  the  collection  grew  very  slowly.  In  1772 
Manning  wrote  that  the  library  consisted  of  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  volumes,  "and  those  not  well  chosen, 
being  such  as  our  friends  could  best  spare. "  Small  and  poor 
as  the  library  was,  it  was  carefully  guarded  during  the  Rev- 
olution, as  we  have  seen,  and  at  the  end  of  the  war  was 
brought  back  to  town.  The  new  tutor,  Mr.  Robbins,  wrote 
years  afterwards:  "  At  the  reorganization  of  the  College,  in 
the  autumn  of  1782,  I  ^^'as  appointed  to  the  office  of  tutor, 
and  took  charge  of  the  Library  as  librarian.  It  ^\as  then 
kept  in  the  east  chamber  on  the  second  floor  of  the  central 
building;  the  volumes  it  contained  were  quite  limited  in 
number —  these  mostly  the  primary  editions  of  the  works 
in  folio  and  quarto.  The  precise  number  I  am  not  able  to 

i:  io8  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

recollect ;  my  impression  is  that  it  did  not  exceed  two  or 
three  hundred."  His  memory  was  at  fault  as  to  the  num- 
ber, for  Manning  says,  in  a  letter  of  November  8,  1783, 
' '  Our  Library  consists  of  about  500  Volumes  most  of  which 
are  both  very  antient  &  very  useless,  as  well  as  very  ragged 
&:  unsightly."  In  the  archives  is  a  catalogue  of  books,  in 
Manning's  hand,  M'hich  appears  to  have  been  made  at  this 
time.  It  shows  that  there  were  then  607  volumes,  most  of 
them  theological,  these  being  the  Morks  which  the  friends 
of  learning  even  in  those  days  "could  best  spare"  ;  but  the 
Greek  and  Latin  classics  were  well  represented,  especially 
Ovid;  Moliere  and  Pascal  were  included;  while  Hooker, 
Hobbes,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Bunyan,  Milton,  and  The  Spectator 
were  the  only  English  classics. 

With  the  raising  of  £700  for  the  purchase  of  philosophi- 
cal apparatus  and  books,  in  1783,  came  a  great  change  for 
the  better.  About  fourteen  hundred  volumes,  selected  chiefly 
by  the  President  and  the  Chancellor,  were  ordered  from  Lon- 
don in  1784;  they  covered  a  wade  range,  and  must  have 
come  like  showers  on  a  thirsty  land  to  the  Faculty  and  stu- 
dents of  Rhode  Island  College.  A  few  titles,  taken  almost  at 
random,  will  illustrate  the  variety  and  richness  of  the  ad- 
ditions: Ossian,  Addison,  Anson's  Voyages,  Burke  on  the 
Sublime  and  Beautiful,  Life  of  Clarendon,  Montesquieu, 
Robertson's  Charles  V,  Rousseau's  Inequality  of  Mankind, 
Winckelmann  on  Painting,  Gay 's  Fables  and  Poems,  Black- 
stone's  Commentaries,  Young,  Thomson,  The  Turkish  Spy, 
Robinson  Crusoe,  Pope's  Complete  Works,  Colley  Cib- 
ber's  Works,  Congreve's  Works,  The  Chinese  Spy,  The 
Jewish  Spy,  The  Idler  and  Rambler,  Lady  Mary  Wortley 
Montagu's  Letters,  Otway's  Works,  Hume,  Swift,  Gold- 
smith, Junius,  Dryden,Hudibras.In  the  same  year  Moses 
Brown  gave  some  forty-six  volumes,  including  the  works 

[    109  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  Fox,  Barclay,  Penn,  Woolman,  and  other  Quakers;  and 
John  Tanner,  of  Newport,  gave  a  hundred  and  thirtj^-five 
volumes  of  miscellaneous  works,  some  of  them  especially 
valuable  for  the  study  of  New  England  church  history. 
In  1785  a  hundred  and  forty-nine  volumes,  including  sev- 
eral of  the  church  fathers,  Sale's  translation  of  the  Koran, 
Bayle's  Dictionary,  Chambers's  Cyclopaedia,  and  the  Bio- 
graphia  Britannica,  were  received  from  the  Education  So- 
ciety of  Bristol,  England. 

The  college  now  having  a  valuable  library  of  two  thou- 
sand volumes  or  more  —  and  Harvard  at  this  time  had  only 
twelve  thousand — the  Corporation  passed  special  votes  re- 
garding the  arrangement  and  care  of  it.  In  November,  1 784, 
they  voted  and  resolved,  "That  the  old  books  which  stand 
on  the  right  hand,  as  we  enter  the  Library  room,  be,  &  they 
are  hereby  ordered  to  be  taken  down  by  the  Librarian,  & 
the  new  Books  set  up  in  their  place,  that  the  Students  may 
have  immediate  access  to  them."  The  following  year  they 
adopted  new  by-laws  for  the  library,  including  these: 

Voted  &  resoi.ved,  that  (that  in  Addition  to  the  fonner  regulations 
for  the  College  Library)  the  Librarian  keep  the  Library'  room  neat  & 
clean;  and,  in  delivering  out  Books,  he  shall  suffer  none  of  the  Stu- 
dents to  derange  or  handle  them  on  the  Shelves;  nor  shall  the  Students 
pass  into  the  Library  room  beyond  the  Table  at  which  the  Librarian 
sits. 

He  shall  demand  &  receive  a  fine  of  six  pence  for  ever)^  time  it  shall 
come  to  his  knowledge,  that  any  Student  hath  suffered  a  Librar)^  book, 
by  him  taken  out,  to  be  uncovered  in  his  possession. 

No  student  or  Graduate,  shall  presume  to  lend  to  any  person  a  book 
belonging  to  the  Library,  on  penalty  of  forfeiting  the  value  thereof,* 
and  the  priviledge  of  the  Library  till  such  forfeiture  be  paid. 

He  shall  open  the  Librarj^  room  on  such  day  of  the  week,  as  the  Presi- 
dent shall  from  time  to  time  direct;  and  shall  keep  it  open  from  one 
to  three  O Clock  in  the  Afternoon. 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

The  charge  to  students  for  the  use  of  the  library  ^^■as  raised 
in  1788  from  six  sliillings  a  year  to  twelve.  Whether  any 
part  of  the  money  thus  obtained  was  used  for  the  purchase 
of  new  books  cannot  be  determined;  but  there  was  no  great 
increase  in  the  library  during  the  rest  of  Manning's  admin- 
istration. 

Undergraduate  life  in  these  early  years  was  regulated  by 
the  English  idea  of  a  college  as  a  large  family,  sleeping,  eat- 
ing, studying,  and  worshiping  together  under  one  roof;  the 
undergraduates  were  the  children,  the  President  was  the  fa- 
ther, and  the  tutors  were  the  stern  and  learned  elder  brothers. 
At  the  beginning  a  handful  of  students  recited  to  the  Presi- 
dent in  his  own  house,  the  parsonage  in  Warren.  When  the 
academic  family  moved  to  Providence  the  President's  house 
was  on  the  "home  lot "  and  close  to  the  students'  hall.  The 
professor  was  encouraged  to  reside  in  the  hall,  and  the  tutors 
and  the  steward  were  required  to  do  so.  The  college  set  a  table, 
the  so-called  ' '  Commons, ' '  where  most  of  the  students  took 
their  meals ;  the  steward  was  expected  to  eat  with  them  and 
to  "exercise  the  same  Authority  as  is  customary  &  needful 
for  the  Head  of  a  Family  at  his  Table."  Every  student  was 
required  to  come  to  family  prayers,  or  "chapel,"  morning 
and  evening.  During  the  day  they  all,  whether  sleeping  in 
the  college  edifice  or  at  home,  had  to  pass  study  hours  at  col- 
lege, and  were  charged  with  room  rent.  They  were  expected 
to  keep  steadily  at  work,  as  the  following  Laws  of  1774 
show: 

That  the  Hours  of  Study,  between  the  Fall  &  Spring  Vaa\tion,  shall  l)e 
from  morning  Prayers,  one  hour  before  Breakfast:  fi-om  Nine  oClock 
A.M.  until  12  oClock;  from  2  oClock  P.M.  until  Sunset,  &  from 
7  until  9  oClock  in  Evening;  &  between  the  Spring  &  Fall  Vaca- 
tion, one  Hour  after  morning  Prayers;  from  8  oClock  A.M.  until  12 
oClock;  fi-om  2  P.M.  until  6:  &  none  Shall  be  out  of  his  Chamber 
after  9  oClock  in  the  Evening. 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

That  no  Student  read  an\"  Book  in  Study  Hours  excepting  the  Classics 
[z.e'.,  textbooks  used  in  the  classes],  or  those  which  tend  to  illustrate 
the  subject  Matter  of  his  Recitations,  for  the  time  being. 

That,  each  one  Continue  in  his  Room  in  the  hours  of  Study,  unless  to 
do  an  Errand,  in  which  he  Shall  be  speedy;  or  to  attend  Recitations. 

That,  each  one  attend  Recitation  twice  in  a  Day  at  such  Time  &  Place 
as  shall  be  appointed. 

That,  no  one  be  absent  from  any  Collegiate  exercise  without  first 
rendering  his  excuse  to  his  Instructor,  or  go  out  of  the  College  Yard, 
without  Liberty,  in  the  time  of  Study. 

In  means  for  carrying  out  this  conception  of  a  college  as  an 
academic  family,  the  American  colleges  fell  far  behind  their 
English  models  in  two  respects  :  the  officers  of  instruction  did 
not  usually  dine  in  hall  with  the  students ;  and  the  college 
buildings  did  not  form  a  quadrangle,  with  only  one  exit 
guarded  by  an  argus-eyed  porter.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
remedy  the  latter  defect  by  requiring  the  tutors  to  yisit  the 
students'  rooms  at  frequent  and  irregular  interyals.  Hence 
the  following  rule  of  Rhode  Island  College  in  1774,  based 
upon  one  at  New  Jersey  College: 

That,  no  Student  refiase  to  open  his  Door  when  he  shall  hear  the  stamp 
of  the  Foot  or  Staff  at  his  Door  in  the  Entr)",  which  shall  be  a  Token 
that  Some  Officer  of  Instruction  desires  admission,  which  Token  every 
Student  is  forbid  to  Counterfit,  or  imitate  under  any  Pretence  what- 
ever. 

While  the  means  for  enforcing  obedience  were  inferior,  the 
rules  were  in  some  respects  more  strict  and  Puritanic.  In  the 
English  universities  wine  parties  were  allowed  or  at  least 
winked  at  if  not  too  noisy.  At  New  Jersey  College  in  1764  a 
student  was  not  allowed ' '  to  make  any  treat  or  entertainment 
in  his  chamber,  on  any  account."  The  Yale  Statutao^  1759 
even  forbade  the  student  to  drink  tea  in  any  company  out 
of  his  own  chamber,  on  penalty  of  one  shilling  :  "  Et  si  quis, 

C  "2  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  aliquo  Coetu  extra  Cubiculum  suum,  Theam  potaverit, 
mulctetur  iino  Solido. ' '  Harvard  was  more  lax,  the  Corpora- 
tion voting  in  1759  that ' '  it  shall  be  no  offence  if  any  scholar 
shall,  at  Commencement^  make  and  entertain  guests  at  his 
chamber  with  punch ' ' ;  and  even  the  restriction  as  to  the  sea- 
son was  removed  two  years  later,  on  the  ground  that  punch, 
"as  it  is  now  usually  made,  is  no  intoxicating  liquor." 
Rhode  Island  College  again  followed  the  lead  of  New  Jersey 
College,  enacting  in  1774,  "That  no  one  practice  attending 
Company  in  his  Room  in  Study  hours :  or  keep  Spirituous 
Liquors  in  his  Room  \\ithout  Liberty  obtained  of  the  Presi- 
dent." 

In  spite  of  paternal  discipline  and  strict  rules,  youth  would 
have  its  fling  even  in  the  earlier  years  of  Manning's  admin- 
istration, when  most  of  the  students  were  supposed  to  be 
sober-minded  youth  preparing  for  the  ministry.^  In  a  letter 
of  December  12,  1770,  the  President  wrote: 

One  Scott,  a  youth  under  my  tuition,  some  time  ago  riding  through 
Smithfield,  .  .  .  rode  up  to,  and,  in  a  most  audaciously  wicked  man- 
ner, broke  the  windows  of  the  Friends'  meeting  house  in  said  town,  of 
which  meeting  I  understand  you  are  clerk.  .  .  .  You  will  be  so  good  as 
to  let  me  know  when  the  first  meeting  of  business  is  held,  that  I  may 
send  him  up  to  appear  before  them,  and  make  not  only  reparation,  but 
such  a  confession  before  the  Meeting  as  shall  be  fldly  satisfactor}'.  .  .  . 
When  this  is  settled,  we  shall  discipline  him  with  the  highest  punish- 
ment we  inflict,  next  to  banishment  from  the  society;  and  with  that,  if  he 
does  not  complv  with  the  above.  ...  I  am  sorrs'  for  his  friends,  and  that 
it  happened  to  fall  to  my  lot  to  have  such  a  thoughtless,  vicious  puj;)il. 

In  the  archives  is  a  paper  which  the  President  read  in  pub- 
lic to  five  culprits  in  1774  : 

When  ever)'  method  for  the  Reformation  of  Delinquents,  in  a  pri- 
vate way,  has  been  used  to  no  Purpose  the  Good  of  Society  and  the 

The  average  age  of  the  students  at  graduation  was  somewhat  less  tlien  than 
now,  being  20.43  years  before  the  Revohition,  and  21  years  after  it. 

[    113   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Honor  of  Government,  as  well  as  the  Interest  of  the  Delinquents, 
require  those  more  public  and  mortifying  Exertions  of  Authority 
which  must  either  reclaim,  or  prove,  that  obstinate  Offenders  must 
be  cut  off  as  Pests  to  the  Body — John  Hart,  Daniel  Gano,  William 
Edwards,  Walter  Wigneron  and  Pardon  Bowen,  walk  forward  into 
the  Ally  —  Whereas  you  have  persisted  for  a  long  time  notoriously 
to  violate  the  Laws  of  this  College  in  sundry  Instances  as  follow  — 

John  Hart,  for  habitually  neglecting  your  Studies,  being  out  of 
College  in  the  Evening  in  Town  beyond  the  Time  specified  in  the 
Laws  and  absent  from  his  Room  in  Study  Hours  and  making  Dis- 
turbance by  Noise  or  otherwise,  and  suffering  others  to  spend  their 
Time  idly  in  his  Room  at  Entertainments  or  otherwise 

Daniel  Gano  for  habitually  neglecting  his  Studies,  being  absent 
ft-om  his  Room  in  Study  Hours,  making  a  Noise  after  9  O  Clock  at 
Night  in  the  College;  by  assisting  others  to  hoist  a  Carpenters  Bench 
in  the  Entry,  &  breaking  a  Window  from  without 

Walter  Wigneron  for  habitually  neglecting  his  Studies,  being  ab- 
sent fi'om  his  Room  in  study  Hours ;  making  a  Noise  in  College ; 
by  assisting  others  in  hoisting  a  Carpenters  Bench  in  the  Entry  after 
9  OC  at  Night  and  suffering  others  to  spend  their  time  idly  in  his 
Room  at  Entertainments  and  otherwise 

William  Edwards,  for  habitually  neglecting  his  Studies  and  being 
absent  from  his  Room  in  Study  Hours, 

These  crimes  being  made  to  appear  against  you  severally  upon 
Examination,  &  all  private  Admonitions  proving  ineffectual ;  at  a 
Meeting  of  the  President  &  Professor  on  the  second  Day  of  March 
AD.  1774;  Resolved,  That  the  aforesaid,  John  Hart,  Daniel  Gano 
Walter  Wigneron  &  William  Edwards  for  the  Crimes  aforesaid 
be  publicly  admonished  in  the  Hall;  and  that  this  Admonition  and 
an  Innumeration  of  the  said  Crimes  be  registered  in  the  Black 
Book. 

We  may  smile  at  the  Puritanic  solemnity  of  the  college  au- 
thorities in  this  piece  of  discipline,  but  we  must  admire  their 
impartiaHty.  One  of  the  students  thus  publicly  disgraced 
was  the  son  of  Morgan  Edwards,  so  prominent  in  the  found- 
ing of  the  institution.  John  Hart  was  the  son  of  an  eminent 
Baptist  clergyman,  Manning's  close  friend,  who  in  a  letter 

C    114   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

four  months  before  had  thanked  the  President  for  the  pains 
he  had  taken  with  his  son,  inckiding  "Trial  of  the  Dis- 
cipHne  of  the  Rod ' '  —  doubtless  one  of  the  ' '  private  Mays 
of  reform  that  had  proved  inadequate.  Daniel  Gano  was  the 
son  of  Manning's  own  brother-in-law.  These  three  were  still 
further  punished  by  the  withholding  of  their  degrees  for  one 
year.  Of  the  students  as  a  whole,  however.  Manning  wrote 
in  1773  that  they  were,  "take  them  together,  a  Sett  of  well 
behaved  Boys." 

For  a  few  years  after  the  Revolution  there  was  no  marked 
change  in  the  order  of  the  college.  In  March,  1785,  Man- 
ning wrote,  "I  believe  our  students  are  as  orderly,  indus- 
trious, and  as  good  scholars  as  at  any  one  period  of  the  In- 
stitution." But  in  September  of  that  year  the  Corporation 
saw  cause  to  pass  the  following  vote:"  Voted  &  resolved, 
that  the  Steward  to  be  appointed  shall  have  the  supervisal 
&  direction  of  the  College  Edefice,  to  prevent  any  damage 
being  done  thereto;  &  for  this  purpose  shall  cause  hinges  & 
a  Lock  to  be  put  on  the  Scuttle  on  the  Roof;  &  that  he  take 
careof  theKey."  And  in  1788  the  President  wrote,  "As  the 
number  increases  my  difficulties  increase,  especially  in  the 
Government  of  ye  College,  and  collecting  Tuition,  &:c." 
The  year  before  he  had  had  a  serious  case  of  discipline, 
referred  to  in  the  letter  quoted  on  page  84 ;  in  the  archives  is 
a  memorandum  that  these  offenders  were  expelled  for  "hav- 
ing offered  an  Insult  and  Abuse  to  one  of  the  Tutors." 
The  members  of  the  Corporation  who  intervened  did  not, 
at  least  openly,  question  the  justice  of  the  punishment,  but 
asked  for  mercy  because  of  the  students'  previous  good 
record;  both  finally  received  their  degrees.  In  the  last  year 
of  Manning's  administration  there  seems  to  ha^'e  been  a 
growing  tendency  to  violate  the  laws  of  the  college,  a  tend- 
ency due,  no  doubt,  to  the  growth  in  numbers  and  perhaps 

:  "5  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

to  some  change  in  the  character  of  the  students.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Faculty  on  April  4,  1791,  it  was  ordered  that  five 
students  be  fined  one  shilling  each  for  ' '  attending  a  Treat 
in  Leonard  2dus:  &  tertius'  room  last  Saturday  Night,  in 
direct  violation  of  the  laws  of  College."  The  record  con- 
tinues : 

Fairbanks  is  fined  also  6/  for  permitting,  some  time  since,  liquor  to  be 
brought  into,  and  to  be  drunk  in  his  room.  .  .  .  That  Howell  be  fined 
6/ for  .  .  .  being  guilty  ...  at  late  Hours  in  the  night  of  running  through 
the  College,  beating  against  the  doors,  hallooing  and  using  prophane 
language.  .  .  .  Admonish  all  the  College  for  irregularities,  in  being  out 
of  College  in  the  Hours  of  Study;  making  unnecessary  noise  in  the  Col- 
lege Edifice;  neglecting  prayers  &  Recitations; — And  especially  asso- 
ciating together  in  each  others  rooms  in  study  Hours;  and  for  a  grow- 
ing neglect  of  public  Worship — Also  for  making  no  distinctions,  in 
their  intercourse,  between  the  higher  &  lower  Classes. 

On  April  2,  probably  in  the  same  year,  three  students  were 
fined  fourpence  each  for  "misbehaviour  at  prayers."  An- 
other memorandum  of  about  the  same  time  reads: 

Hunter  King  &  Hazard  primus,  for  riding  out  on  Sunday  fined  three 
shillings  each.  —  Baileys  &  Ellis,  for  allowing  a  combination  in  their 
room  fined  two  shillings  each.  —  Reprimand  the  three  under  Classes 
for  insulting  the  Seniors,  &  the  Junior  Class  in  particular  for  entering 
into  a  Combination  to  transgress  the  regulations  of  College.  Repri- 
mand the  whole  for  profane  language. 

The  last  item  of  the  program  seems  perilously  like  the  pro- 
cess which  Burke  condemned,  of  bringing  an  indictment 
against  a  whole  nation,  and  Avas  a  strange  necessity  in  a  col- 
lege founded  chiefly  to  educate  young  men  foi  the  ministry. 
A  stray  ' '  Recitation  Bill ' '  of  this  period  shows  that  in  one 
class  during  one  week  there  were  fifty-six  absences  out  of 
a  possible  one  hundred  and  sixty-five,  a  very  high  rate. 

The  system  of ' '  Commons ' '  was  a  wretchedly  inadequate 
substitute  for  the  English  system.  Instead  of  a  large  and 

C  116  3 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

venerable  dining-hall,  beautiful  in  architecture  and  rich 
with  the  associations  of  centuries,  the  place  of  meeting  was 
a  small,  bare  room,  still  fresh  from  the  hands  of  mason  and 
carpenter/  Instead  of  dining  with  the  officers  and  guests  of 
the  college,  the  students  usually  ate  alone  except  for  the  pres- 
ence of  the  steward,  for  whom  they  had  no  re^'erence,  and 
whom  they  often  disliked.  In  a  round-robin,  dated  December 
31, 1773,  a  committee  representing  all  the  classes  protested 
to  the  Corporation  that  the  steward  was  not  furnishing  the 
food  prescribed.  Another  petition,  apparendy  some  years 
later,  complains  that  "the  Steward  is  a  person  difficult  to  deal 
with,  .  .  .  frequently  insulting  us  by  his  reflections — fre- 
quently injuring  us  by  his  complaints. ' '  The  steward,  on  the 
other  hand,  often  reported  that  the  students  did  not  pay  their 
board  bills.  In  such  conditions  the  amenities  of  the  table  were 
not  likely  to  be  observed.  For  many  years  things  seem  to  have 
been  doubly  cheerless  in  cold  weather,  the  Corporation  \ot- 
ing  in  1789  that  "in  future,  during  the  cold  season,"  the 
commons  room  should  be  "  suitably  warmed."  The  food 
was  plain  and  lacked  variety,  and,  if  the  student  petitions  say 
true,  it  was  not  always  well  cooked  or  well  served.  In  short, 
college  commons  were  merely  a  cheap  boarding  club  for  stu- 
dents, with  the  bad  manners  and  boisterousness  usually 
characteristic  of  such  places.  The  Corporation  recognized 
the  evil  and  tried  to  lessen  it  by  rules,  the  very  need  for  which 
betrays  the  conditions.  The  following  regulations  were  in- 
cluded in  the  Laws  of  1774: 

That  the  Steward  call  on  whome  he  thinks  proper  to  ask  a  Blessing, 
and  return  thanks  at  Table,  during  which  no  Studant  shall  meddle 
with  any  of  the  Provisions  or  Table  Furniture,  but  beha%e  with  De- 
cency and  Sobriety. 

Commons  room  was  what  is  now  6  University  Hall,  but  only  one  story  high 
and  without  galleries. 

I    '17   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

That  the  Senior  Class  be  divided  and  some  sit  at  one  part  of  the 
Table  and  others  at  another  Part;  and  that  they,  or  such  others  as 
shall  be  appointed,  only,  shall  caU  for  what  may  be  wanting  at  Table; 
and  aU  others  are  forbid  either  calling  or  using  any  other  signs  of 
calling,  except  Decantly  mentioning  it  to  the  above  named,  what  is 
wanting:  and  provided  any  Person  or  Persons  shall  use  indecent 
Gestures  at  Table;  or  in  any  wise  transgress  the  orders  of  the  Table, 
the  Senior  siting  at  the  Head  of  the  Table  shall  immediately  order  him 
to  sit  next  to  him,  that  he  may  observe  his,  or  their  future  conduct 
and  behavior. 

That  the  whole  Body  be  so  divided  as  that  a  determinate  Number 
only,  in  succession  through  the  whole,  shall  carve;  this,  being  done 
in  Alphabitical  order,  the  next  to  him  shall  distribute  the  Meat,  & 
Sauce;  no  one  else  being  allowed  to  take  them  him-self;  and  the  same 
Person,  for  the  Day,  shall  pour  out  Coffee,  Tea,  &c  and  put  in  a  proper 
Quantity  of  Sugar. 

In  spite  of  the  minuteness  and  legal  precision  of  these  reg- 
ulations, they  evidently  failed  of  their  end;  and  in  1789  the 
Corporation  voted  that  the  tutors  must  sit  at  table  in  com- 
mons ' '  and  preserve  order  and  Decorum, ' '  and  also  that  stu- 
dents might  be  allowed  by  the  president  and  tutors  to  board 
in  town  if  they  wished. 

The  expenses  of  students,  especially  if  they  boarded  in 
commons,  \\ere  low,  even  when  allowance  is  made  for  the 
high  purchasing  power  of  the  dollar  in  those  days.  In  1773 
tuition  was  $12  a  year  ;  room  rent  in  the  college  edifice,  $5 
a  year;  board  in  commons,  $1  a  week:  a  total,  exclusive 
of  books,  firewood,  and  incidentals,  of  about  $56  for  a 
year  of  nearly  thirty-nine  weeks.  After  the  Revolution  tui- 
tion went  up  to  $16  ;  room  rent  went  down  to  $4,  but  there 
was  a  charge  for  the  care  of  rooms.  The  total  expense  for 
the  college  year  is  thus  stated  by  President  Manning  in  a 
letter  of  February  11,  1 788  :  "  The  Expence  of  boarding  in 
Commons,  Tuition,  Room  Rent  &  Library  &  Apparatus 

c  118 : 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Privileges,  deducting  l/4  of  a  Year  for  the  Vacations/ 
amounts  to  just  £20-5-9  Lawful  Money  at  present,  but 
I  expect  the  Commons  will  be  low  ered  as  soon  as  stability 
in  Government  takes  place — A  Period,  I  now  hope,  not  \er3' 
distant  —  Wood  is  about  12/  pr  Cord;  and,  other  inciden- 
tal Expences  as  moderate  here,  or  more  so  than  at  Dart- 
mouth." The  cost  of  firewood  is  mentioned  because  the  stu- 
dents had  to  supply  their  own,  as  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing vote  of  the  Corporation  on  December  12,  1786,  w  hich 
also  gives  a  glimpse  into  the  conditions  of  student  life  then  : 
"From  a  representation  made  to  this  Corporation ,  by  the  of- 
ficers of  instruction,  that  the  Students  are  absolutely  unable 
to  pursue  their  respective  s  [t]  udies  on  account  of  the  scar- 
city of  firewood  at  this  very  inclement  season,  the  Corpora- 
tion .  .  .  Resolved  that  four  cords  be  immediately  brought 
from  Mr  Waterman's  lot,  to  be  distributed  by  the  Steward 
as  may  be  necessary  ;  and  be,  by  him,  charged  to  those  who 
may  receive  it  in  their  next  Quarter  bills."  In  a  letter  of 
December  8,  1790,  Manning  writes,  "Our  Vacation  com- 
mences a  fortnight  sooner  than  usual  on  Acct :  of  the  Ex- 
tremity of  the  season,  &:  scarcity  of  wood,  wch :  is  now  at 
10/  &  12/ pr.  load." 

It  is  evident  that  in  the  youth  of  the  college  its  charges  for 
tuition  were  relatively  low,  being  about  one-third  of  the  price 
of  board.  Rhode  Island  College,  as  was  natural  in  a  young 
institution  connected  with  a  poor  religious  denomination, 
sought  to  provide  an  education  at  the  lowest  possible  price, 
its  charges  being  about  the  same  after  the  war  as  those  of 

'  The  vacations  specified  in  tlie  Laws  of  1783  amount  to  fourteen  weeks  and 
four  days:  "The  times  of  Vacation  shall  be  from  Septr:  6th:  to  October 
20th;  — From  December  24th  :  to  January  10th;  — and  from  April  21st :  to 
June  1st."  In  1786  the  winter  vacation  was  lengthened  to  six  weeks,  but  it 
was  changed  back  to  a  month  the  next  year,  the  spring  vacation  being  two 
weeks  in  1787  and  three  weeks  in  1788. 

C    119   J 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

New  Jersey  College  were  ten  years  before  it.  In  a  letter  of 
February  15,  1791,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richard  Furman,  of 
South  Carolina,  Manning  says,  "I  have  taken  pains  to  pro- 
cure certain  information  of  the  expences  in  all  the  colleges 
from  Philadelphia  eastward  and  am  convinced,  that  the 
A\'hole  expence  usual  [for]  a  public  education  is  much  less 
with  us  than  in  [them]." 

Of  the  life  of  the  students  in  their  relations  with  one 
another  very  little  is  known.  The  only  undergraduate  society 
of  which  there  is  evidence  was  the ' '  Pronouncing  Society, ' ' 
for  mutual  improvement  in  the  art  of  speaking ;  it  is  referred 
to  in  the  papers  of  Solomon  Drowne,  who  was  chosen  pres- 
ident of  it  in  1771.  Athletic,  musical,  and  dramatic  clubs 
were  undreamed  of,  and  indeed  there  would  have  been  little 
leisure  for  them  with  the  prescribed  routine.  One  feature  of 
undergraduate  life — the  relations  of  the  classes  to  one  an- 
other— which  is  now  left  wholly  to  student  control  except 
when  restraint  becomes  necessary,  was  in  these  early  years 
made  the  subject  of  academic  regulation :  the  college  laws 
taught  the  freshman  his  place.  One  of  the  Laws  of  1774 
reads, ' '  That,  the  freshmen  Class  in  alphabetical  order  kindle 
a  fire  seasonably  before  morning  Prayers,  in  the  Room  where 
they  are  attended  During  the  Winter  Season  " ;  and  in  1783 
the  ringing  of  the  college  bell  was  added  to  the  duties  of  the 
freshmen.  By  the  Supplement  to  the  Laws  of  1793  fresh- 
men were  required  to  carry  the  disciplinary  billets  sent  by 
seniors  and  juniors  to  lower  classmen ;  "  to  wait  on  the  Cor- 
poration when  they  meet ' ' ;  and  ' '  to  attend  the  Librarian  on 
the  days  on  which  the  library  shall  be  opened."  The  gra- 
dations between  the  other  classes  likewise  were  recognized 
and  enforced  by  the  following  Laws  of  1 774 : 

That,  due  respect  be  paid  to  those  of  a  Superior  standing,  by  Inferiors, 
by  giveing  them  the  Precidence  &  Choice  of  Seats. 

[     120    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Ordered  that  the  Senior  Class  ha\e  authorit\-  to  detain  in  the  Hall 
after  Evening  Prayers  such  of  tlie  under  Classes  as  they  shall  obser\e 
in  breaking  any  of  the  Laws  of  College,  and  there  admonish  them 
of  such  Offences,  as  well  as  correct  and  instruct  them  in  their  general 
Deportment,  correcting  their  Mannei-s  in  such  minute  particulai-s  of 
a  genteel  Carriage  &  good  breeding,  as  does  not  come  within  any 
express  written  Law  of  the  College,  which  Admonitions  Corrections 
&  Instructions  the  Delinquents  are  to  receive  with  Modest)'  &  Sub- 
mission, &  punctualy  obser\'e. 

That  the  under  Classes  always  wait  for  those  of  the  Superior  Classes 
to  go  in  first  [?.6'.,  into  the  dining-room],  provided  any  of  them  be 
in  sight  when  at  the  Door:  and  that  diey  observe  the  same  Decorimi 
in  returning. 

Theproof  of  a  college  is  in  its  graduates.  What  kind  of  schol- 
ars came  out  of  Brown  University  during  its  first  quarter 
century?  what  training  for  their  work  in  life  did  they  get  in 
the  college?  what  work  did  they  do  in  the  world?  To  these 
questions  some  answers  can  be  given,  though  partial  and 
imperfect. 

The  training  in  Latin  and  Greek  seems  to  have  been  thor- 
ough as  far  as  it  went.  The  entrance  work  laid  a  good  foun- 
dation, and  on  this  the  college  built  a  solid  though  not  lofty 
superstructure.  Great  emphasis  was  laid  upon  the  actual 
use  of  Latin  as  a  language  to  be  written  or  spoken ;  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  law  was  a  dead  letter 
which  said,  in  1774  and  again  in  1783, "That,  in  the  Hours 
of  Study  no  one  speak  to  another  except  in  Latin  in  the  Col- 
lege or  College- Yard. ' '  An  interesting  bit  of  evidence  on  this 
point  is  found  in  the  note-book  of  Solomon  Drowne,  copied 
from  that  of  a  former  student,  ^\•hich  has  a  Latin  as  well  as 
an  English  title :  ' '  Compendium  Metaphysicorum  et  On- 
tologiae,  Manuscriptum  Solomonis  Drown,  Junioris,  primo 
Die  Februarii,  Anno  Domini  1772do."  His  admonitions  to 
himself,  at  the  bottoms  of  the  pages,  when  he  fears  he  is  not 

C  12.  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

copying  fast  enough,  afford  amusing  proof  that  he  is  accus- 
tomed to  express  himself  and  perhaps  to  think  in  Latin.  Thus 
on  February  5  he  writes,  "Perge,  perge,  Solomon,  et  scribe 
occjus,  vel  non  finias  hac  hebdomade. ' '  On  finishing  the  Sec- 
ond Part  he  scribbles  in  the  margin, "Fessus  Sum.  Sic  finit 
Ontologia,  et  maxime  Gaudeo  octava  nocte  Februarii."  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  whole  he  writes,  "Hoc  Compendium 
Metaphysicorum  et  Ontologiae,  cum  Perfectionibus  et  At- 
tributis  DEI,  Proprium  est,  Solomonis  Drown  Junioris ;  qui 
Membrum  est  Collegii,  Providentiae,  intra  Col.  Ins.  Rhod. 
et  Prov.  Plant.  Nov.  Anglorum.  Manuscripta  sua,  ab  Ex- 
emplareTheodori  Foster,  ArtiumBaccalaureus."Andinthe 
margin  he  heaves  a  Latin  sigh  of  relief :  "Tandem  finivi,  et 
Occasio  est  Mihi  maximi  Gaudii."  All  this  is  no  proof,  of 
course,  that  the  early  graduates  of  the  college  were  finished 
classical  scholars  having  the  culture  of  European  univer- 
sities ;  but  it  is  evidence  that  one  of  the  world's  great  tongues 
was  something  more  real  and  vital  to  them  than  a  mere  set 
of  printed  characters  in  books,  and  that  in  the  study  of  it 
they  must  have  received  considerable  discipline  in  thought 
and  expression.  The  same  in  less  degree  may  be  said  of  their 
training  in  Greek  and  Hebrew. 

In  English  composition  and  public  speaking,  also,  the 
pupils  of  President  Manning  had  much  practice,  under  the 
guidance  of  an  expert ;  and  there  has  survived  ample  mate- 
rial forjudging  of  their  proficiency  in  the  use  of  their  mother 
tongue.  When  we  examine  their  spelling,  grammar,  and 
other  beggarly  elements,  it  is  something  of  a  shock  to  find 
that  these  students,  of  native  American  stock  and  of  clas- 
sical nurture,  are  far  from  impeccable.  After  due  allowance 
is  made  for  difference  in  usage  then  and  now,  the  number 
of  errors  is  surprisingly  great.  A  member  of  the  first  grad- 
uating class,  in  a  letter  to  his  professor  shortly  after  Com- 

C    122    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

mencement,  runs  from  one  sentence  into  another  A\ithout  a 
capital  and  with  only  a  comma  between,  and  uses  "  w  lio" 
for'  'whom ' '  in  so  simple  a  phrase  as  "whol  expect  Daily. ' ' 
In  a  letter  to  Manning,  fifteen  years  later,  a  letter  carefully 
written,  with  corrections,  he  commits  a  double  negative  — 
"to  neither  of  which  I  have  not  Reed,  any  Reply."  The 
valedictorian  of  the  same  class,  in  his  Commencement  ad- 
dress, constantly  misspells  common  words,  as  in  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  the  original  manuscript: 
Oh !  could  you  but  for  a  moment,  ti-anspoit  yourselves  to  Athens, 
&  immagin  you  there  behold  that  Oracal  of  Greece;  that  prince  of 
Orators  ascend  the  Rostrum,  Surrounded  by  the  gaping  multitude ; 
could  you  here  the  terrific  thunder  of  his  Voice;  and  See  the  light 
flash  fi-om  either  Eye;  while  all  the  members  of  his  Agitated  body, 
proclamethe  huge  immotions  of  his  Mind — Could  you  here  him  dis- 
charge those  thundering  Vollies  of  Execi-ations  on  the  devouted  head 
of  an  usurping  philip,  that  In\^ader  of  Greecien  Liberty :  .  .  .  you 
would  cease  to  wonder  at  the  prodigious  Influence  of  that  renowned 
Patriot,  over  his  fellow  Citizens. 

It  is  surprising  that  this  classical  scholar  and  admirer  of 
the  Greek  orator  never  once  spells  his  hero's  name  correctly, 
always  writing  it ' '  Demosthines . ' '  The  habit  of  misspelling 
words  derived  from  the  classic  languages  also  appears  in 
a  letter  by  Theodore  Foster,  in  1770,  where  occur  "Collo- 
nies",  "Lattin",  "Derector",  "Desturbed",  "Des- 
pute",  "  insensable  " ,  and  "juvinile".  In  Browne's  note- 
book there  may  be  found,  in  addition  to  an  individual 
stroke  of  genius  — ' '  grocer ' '  for  ' '  grosser  " ,  —  many  of 
the  misspellings  so  familiar  to  every  teacher  nowadays : 
"concious",  "Peice",  "seperated",  "opperation",  "im- 
mitation"and"imatation","cheifly",  "beleive",  "exist- 
ance",  "dispise",  "emminent",  "enimies",  "sensa- 
tive",  "Cataline".  Here,  too,  quite  in  the  modern  style, 
"effect"  is  misused  for  "affect"  and  "lays"  for  "lies", 

C    123   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

and  singular  -verbs  are  unequally  yoked  together  with  plural 
subjects.  After  the  Revolution  things  were  no  better.  In 
1786,  when  Manning  had  been  elected  to  Congress,  some 
of  the  students  respectfully  urged  him  not  to  accept,  on  the 
ground  that  the  college  needed  him,  and  their  very  spelling 
added  strength  to  their  plea,  with  such  errors  as  "under- 
writen",  "percieved",  "  preperation " ,  and  "oppertu- 
nity".  The  valedictorian  of  the  class  of  1787,  Jonathan 
Maxcy,  in  resigning  his  tutorship  in  1791,  could  write, 
"Under  which  your  kindness  has  already  lain  me."  His 
successor  in  the  presidency,  Asa  Messer,  of  the  class  of 
1790,  had  not  mastered  the  art  of  spelling  in  college,  and 
to  the  end  of  his  days,  in  private  and  official  letters,  com- 
mitted such  mistakes  as  ' '  shepard  ' ' ,  and  ' '  birth ' '  for 
' '  berth ' ' .  But  Rhode  Island  College  was  not  alone  in  fail- 
ing to  secure  accuracy  in  all  the  fundamentals  of  English 
scholarship  ;  there  is  abundant  evidence  in  the  Corporation 
records,  and  elsewhere  in  its  archives,  that  the  graduates 
of  other  colleges  were  in  the  same  case.  Modern  teachers 
of  English,  when  weary  with  cropping  the  hydra  heads  of 
bad  spelling  and  bad  grammar,  may  at  least  comfort  them- 
selves with  the  thought  that  their  dragon  foe  is  of  ancient 
lineage. 

In  the  style  of  these  early  graduates  there  is  much  that  is 
sophomoric,  the  natural  tendency  of  youth  toward  the  florid 
and  bombastic  being  then  reinforced  by  popular  taste  in 
a  new  country,  at  a  time  of  strong  political  excitement.  A 
few  specimens  may  be  interesting. 

The  valedictorian  at  the  first  Commencement  talked  in 
the  learned  Latinized  style: 

For  tho'ugh  Logic,  Mathamatics,  Metaphysics  and  philosophy,  fur- 
nish knowledge  for,  &  add  Strength  to  the  Mind,  yet,  these  are  rather 
calculated  for  entertainment  in  Solitude ;  and  Seperate  from  a  proper 

C     124    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Method  of  Communicating  our  Ideas,  would  he  as  Supei-fluous  to 
Society,  as  elahorate  \olumes  on  those  different  Suhjects  in  a  language 
perfectly  unintelligible. 

Barnabas  Binney,  who  became  a  surgeon  in  the  Continental 
army,  when  he  delivered  his  valedictory  in  1774  had  not  yet 
learned  to  use  the  knife  on  his  style,  which  is  infested  uith 
swelling  tumors  like  the  following  (on  the  preservation  of 
religious  liberty):  "  Hear  it!  O  Americans !  Hear  it !  O  ye 
unborn  millions ;  and  hearing,  feel ;  and  feeling,  swear  by 
heaven's  great  fire,  that  what  he  gave  you'  11  still  preserve. ' ' 
In  his  wrath  against  oppression  he  passed  the  bounds  of 
nature,  and  represented  a  patient  animal,  that  has  long  borne 
the  tyranny  of  man,  as  doing  something  quite  beyond  its 
powers  : ' '  To  sit  sucking  our  fingers,  'till  our  burdens  press 
so  hard  that  we  can  neither  support  them,  nor  thro^v  them 
off,  is  characteristic  rather  of  asses  than  of  men."  The 
windy  style  reached  almost  cyclonic  proportions  in  an  ora- 
tion by  a  member  of  the  junior  class,  in  1788,  full  of  empty 
commonplaces  on  death  and  high-flown  expressions  of  grief 
over  the  loss  of  a  classmate  drowned  at  Fox  Point. 

But  there  is  much  that  is  admirable,  even  to  a  modern 
reader,  in  these  youthful  productions.  The  thought,  while 
neither  original  nor  profound,  is  usually  sensible  and  vigor- 
ous ;  and  there  is  on  the  whole  a  rather  surprising  gift  of 
expression — a  fluency,  an  amplitude,  a  force,  a  general  ma- 
turity— hardly  to  be  expected  in  writers  so  young.  One  can 
easily  credit  President  Manning  when  he  says,  writing  in 
1782  about  the  college  just  before  the  Revolution,  "The 
Reputation  it  had  acquired,  for  producing  good  Speakers, 
promised  in  the  Course  of  a  few  Years,  to  render  it  equal 
in  Numbers,  and  the  Rival  of  American  Colleges  founded 
long  before  it";  or  when  he  says  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Furman, 
in  a  letter  of  February  15,  1791,   "If  I  am  not  deceived 

C    125  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  point  of  public  speaking,  the  palm  is  almost  universally 
yielded  to  us,  even  by  the  alumni  of  other  Colleges." 

In  versifying,  too,  the  students  had  some  knack.  Barna- 
bas Binney's  valedictory  address  to  his  classmates  draws  a 
rather  pretty  picture  of  student  life  ' '  on  the  hill ' ' : 

No  more ! — at  ease  reclin'd  on  yonder  hill, 

Where  verdent  grass  perfum'd  with  sweetest  flowers. 

By  faithful  nature's  provident  command 

Prepares  a  couch  unknown  to  rankling  care; 

While  o'er  contented  heads,  those  shady  trees. 

Seem  pleas'd  to  spread  their  num'rous  waving  bows. 

Or  sweetly  blushing  in  their  vernal  bloom. 

Or  gently  bending,  with  their  ripen'd  fruit! 

Alas!  no  more,  in  those  fair,  fertile  fields. 

Where  zephyrs  gently  fan  the  sultry  heat, 

Shall  we  in  harmless  jolity  and  mirth. 

And  converse  free,  of  all  the  mighty  minds 

Of  ancient  times,  talk  down  the  summer's  sun ! 

In  wint'ry  storms,  by  gen'rous  fires,  no  more 

Together  turn  the  grave  historian's  page! 

Nor  search  the  greek  and  roman  classics  more! 

Nor  swell  with  rapture  at  the  poet's  song! 

Jonathan  Maxcy,  in  his  valedictory  poem  of  1787,  "On 
the  Prospects  of  America,"  attempts  a  loftier  note.  In  coup- 
lets having  much  of  the  smooth  eloquence  characteristic 
of  the  school  of  Pope,  he  sketches  the  great  future  which 
awaits  the  New  World,  including  this  picture  of  the  college 
at  Providence : 

There  shall  bright  learning  fix  her  last  retreat. 
Her  joyous  sons,  a  num'rous  concourse  meet; 
Each  art  shall  there  to  full  perfection  grow. 
And  all  be  known  that  man  shall  ever  know; 
There  shall  religion  pure  from  heav'n  descend. 
Her  influence  mild  thro'  all  degrees  extend; 

C    126   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Each  different  sect  shall  then  consenting  join, 
Walk  in  her  domes,  and  bend  before  hei-  shrine; 
Virtue  shall  reign,  each  heart  expand  with  j)raise, 
And  hail  the  j^rospext  of  celestial  da\s. 

The  most  convincing  test  of  the  quality  of  a  college's 
jDroduct  is  the  work  which  its  graduates  do  in  the  world. 
Judged  by  this  standard,  Brown  University  has  no  reason 
to  be  ashamed  of  its  beginnings.  So  far  as  the  records  show, 
very  few  of  its  early  sons  were  idle  or  inept ;  nearly  all  found 
honorable  places  in  the  professions  or  in  trade,  while  a  rela- 
tively large  number  attained  more  or  less  distinction.  The 
first  student,  William  Rogers,  after  being  pastor  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  in  Philadelphia  and  chaplain  in  the  Con- 
tinental army,  held  for  twenty-two  years  the  professorship 
of  oratory  and  belles-lettres  in  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania; he  also  served  in  the  Pennsylvania  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, and  was  vice-president  of  societies  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery  and  for  prison-reform.  Theodore  Foster, 
1770,  represented  Rhode  Island  in  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate for  thirteen  years.  Solomon  Drowne,  1773,  a  surgeon 
in  the  Continental  army,  a  student  of  medicine  in  Europe 
for  several  years,  a  vice-president  of  the  Rhode  Island  Med- 
ical Society,  and  a  member  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Sciences,  served  his  Alma  Mater  as  professor  of 
materia  medica  and  botany  for  twenty-three  years  and  as 
fellow  for  half  a  century.  Dwight  Foster,  of  the  next  class, 
represented  Massachusetts  in  the  national  House  and  Sen- 
ate. Pardon  Bowen,  1775,  was  an  eminent  physician  in 
Providence  for  some  forty  years,  and  president  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Medical  Society.  Samuel  Snow,  1782,  was  United 
States  consul  in  Canton,  China.  Levi  Wheaton,  of  the  same 
class,  was  professor  of  medicine  in  Brown  University  for 
thirteen  years  and  a  trustee  for  fifty-three  years.  Nicholas 

C    127   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Brown,  1786,  presidential  elector,  a  founder  of  the  Provi- 
dence Athenaeum  and  the  Butler  Hospital,  was  the  muni- 
ficent patron  of  the  college,  which  takes  its  name  from  him. 
Samuel  Eddy,  of  the  next  class,  long  a  trustee  and  fellow  of 
the  college,  represented  Rhode  Island  in  Congress  for  three 
terms,  was  its  secretary  of  state  for  twenty- two  years,  and 
chief  justice  for  eight  years.  Jonathan  Maxcy,  his  classmate, 
was  president  of  Rhode  Island  College,  Union  College,  and 
South  Carolina  College.  Jabez  Bowen,  1788,  was  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  supreme  court  of  Georgia.  James  Burrill,  of  the 
same  class,  was  chief  justice  of  the  Rhode  Island  supreme 
court  and  a  United  States  senator.  James  Fenner,  1789,  was 
United  States  senator,  governor  of  Rhode  Island  for  thirteen 
years,  presidential  elector  twice,  and  president  of  the  Rhode 
Island  constitutional  convention  in  1842.  His  classmate,  Jer- 
emiah B.  Howell,  was  brigadier-general  of  the  Rhode  Island 
militia,  and  United  States  senator.  Asa  Messer,  of  the  fol- 
lowing class,  was  president  of  Brown  University  for  twenty- 
four  years.  The  last  class  under  Manning  included  William 
Hunter,  United  States  senator  and  minister  to  Brazil,  James 
B.  Mason,  member  of  Congress,  and  Jonathan  Russell,  com- 
missioner to  negotiate  the  treaty  of  Ghent  in  1814,  member 
of  Congress,  and  minister  to  Norway  and  Sweden. 

These  are  the  more  prominent  names,  surely  a  distin- 
guished list  when  we  consider  that  there  were  but  one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  graduates  in  all  during  this  period, 
and  that  most  of  them  had  neither  wealth  nor  family  station 
to  give  them  a  start  in  life.  But  this  roll  by  no  means  tells  the 
whole  story,  which  is  better  given  by  the  following  statistics 
showing  the  occupations  of  all  these  alumni  so  far  as  known. 
It  should  be  premised  that,  since  the  main  purpose  of  the 
figures  is  to  indicate  the  work  which  these  men  did  in  the 
world,  some  are  counted  more  than  once,  being  entered  under 

[    128    3 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

all  the  occupations  in  which  thev  engaged.  Clerg3-men,  43 : 
Congregationalist,  26;  Baptist,  12;  Episcopal,  1 ;  Unitarian, 
1 ;  of  unknown  denomination,  3.  Lawyers,  29.  Physicians, 
19.  Teachers,  19.  State  legislators,  18.  Members  of  the  col- 
lege Corporation,  17.  Judges,  12:  United  States  judges,  2; 
state  supreme  court  judges,  4;  judges  of  lower  courts,  6. 
Business  men,  12.  College  professors,  6.  United  States  sen- 
ators, 6.  Congressmen,  6:  in  Continental  Congress,  1;  in 
United  States  House  of  Representatives,  5.  United  States 
ministers,  2.  College  presidents,  2.  General  state  officers, 
2.  Governor,  1.  United  States  consul,  1.  Librarian,  1.  Cer- 
tainly the  college  under  its  first  president  fulfilled  its  purpose 
of  "preserving  in  the  Community  a  Succession  of  Men  duly 
qualify 'd  for  discharging  the  Offices  of  Life  with  usefulness 
and  reputation." 


C    129   ] 


CHAPTER  IV 
PRESIDENT  MAXCY'S  ADMINISTRATION 

ORATORY  UNDER  MAXCY  :  COMMENCEMENTS  :  GROWTH  OF  THE  COLLEGE: 
UNDERGRADUATE  LIFE 

UPON  the  death  of  President  Manning  the  thoughts  of 
the  Corporation  turned  at  once  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Jones,  of  Pennsylvania,  as  a  fitting  successor.  Dr.  Jones 
had  already  served  the  college  by  remodeling  its  charter, 
and  would  have  made  a  very  able  college  president.  He  was 
a  man  of  imposing  presence ;  he  had  guided  young  men  for 
years  in  their  theological  studies;  he  was  a  powerful  preacher 
and  a  wise  administrator.  It  is  interesting  to  surmise  what 
the  development  of  the  college  might  have  been  under  the 
guidance  of  so  vigorous  and  mature  a  man.  But  it  was  not 
to  be.  Dr.  Jones  declined,  chiefly  on  the  ground  that  his 
age  made  it  imprudent  for  him  "to  enter  on  a  new  Scene 
of  Life."  The  Corporation  then  deferred  the  election  of 
a  president,  making  temporary  arrangements  meanwhile. 
On  August  2,  1791,  they  voted  that  the  Rev.  Peres  Fobes, 
professor  of  natural  philosophy,  who  had  acted  as  vice-pres- 
ident in  1786,  "  be  requested  to  attend  the  College  from  this 
time  'till  Commencement  to  supervise  the  Instruction  of  the 
Students  &  perform  prayers  &c." 

David  Howell,  secretary  to  the  Corporation,  and  professor 
of  law  since  1790,  was  appointed  to  ofiiciate  at  Commence- 
ment. He  made  an  address  to  the  graduating  class,  full  of 
kindly,  pointed  wisdom,  bespeaking  the  scholar  and  man 
of  affairs.  A  few  sentences  from  it  will  supplement  what  has 
already  been  said  about  the  character  and  ability  of  the 
college's  first  professor: 

Be  cautious  of  bandving  into  parties;  they  regard  neither  the  abilities 
nor  virtues  of  men,  but  only  their  subservency  to  present  purposes; 

[    130    ] 


HISTORY  OF   HHOWX  UNIVERSITY 

they  area  snare  to  ^irtue  and  a  niischiel"  to  society.  \\'ith  tliis  caution 
on  your  mind,  >ou  will  never  re\  ile  or  speak  evil  of  whole  sects,  classes, 
or  societies  of  men.  .  .  .  Never  aim  to  rise  in  life  by  depressing  otli- 
ei-s;  it  is  more  manh'  to  relv  on  the  stienj^th  of  ones  own  abilities  and 
merit.  Avoid  publishing,  or  e\"en  listening  to  scandal.  To  mention, 
with  pleasure,  the  virtues  e\'en  of  a  rival,  denotes  a  great  mind.  .  .  . 
It  is  a  mark  of  vanit^■  to  speak  lightly  of  re^•elation.  Not  to  admire 
those  ancient  and  sublime  books  shews  a  want  of  taste  in  fine  writ- 
ing, as  well  of  real  judgment  in  discerning  the  truth.  And  here  let  me 
caution  \ou  ne\er  to  ridicule  whate^'er  ma)'  be  held  sacred  by  any 
devout  and  judicious  man.  If  you  cannot  join  with  him,  at  least  do 
not  disturb  him  by  }our  irreverence. 

During  mostof  the  nextyear  the  college  had  no  formal  head. 
Jonathan  Maxcy,  who  had  seryed  as  tutor  since  his  grad- 
uation four  years  before  and  had  just  been  appointed  pro- 
fessor of  divinity,  m  as  requested,  by  a  yote  of  the  Corpo- 
ration on  September  8,  "as  often  as  he  conveniently  can 
without  interfering  with  his  duties  as  Pastor  of  the  Church 
he  serves  to  attend  &  accasionly  Lecture  on  Sundays  Morn- 
ing &  Eveng.  prayers  in  the  College  Hall  in  Compensation 
for  which  services  he  be  allowed  the  occupation  of  half  the 
Presidents  house  &  half  of  the  College  Lands."  On  June 
6,  1792,  Mr.  Howell  was  "appointed  to  superintend  the 
Government  &:  Instruction  of  the  Institution  from  this  period 
untill  Commencement  day  "  and  also  "  to  officiate  as  Presi- 
dent from  [=for?]  the  ensuing  Commencement."  At  the 
annual  meeting  in  September,  1792,  Jonathan  Maxcy  was 
elected  president  pro  tempore;  he  served  as  such  until  Sep- 
tember 7,  1797,  when  he  was  chosen  president.  On  Sep- 
tember 2,  1802,  he  resigned,  to  become  the  head  of  Union 
College  in  Schenectady,  New  York.  After  two  years  in  this 
position,  he  was  chosen  the  first  president  of  South  Caro- 
lina College,  which  he  served  with  great  success  until  his 
death  on  June  4,  1820. 

C    131    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

At  the  time  of  his  election  Maxcy  was  probably  the  young- 
est college  president  in  the  country.  "At  the  Commence- 
ment succeeding  his  inauguration,"  says  his  biographer 
and  editor,  Professor  Elton,  "the  College  was  illuminated, 
and  a  transparency  was  placed  in  the  attic  story  displaying 
his  name,  with —  'President  24  years  old.'  "  He  was  born  in 
Attleboro,  Massachusetts,  September  2,  1768.  His  grand- 
father was  greatly  respected  in  the  community,  for  many 
years  representing  the  town  in  the  colonial  legislature ;  his 
parents  were  of  strong  character  and  intellect,  and  his  father 
had  some  literary  talent.  Jonathan  showed  precocity  as  a 
scholar  and  orator,  and  was  therefore  put  into  the  academy 
at  Wrentham.  Although  only  fifteen  years  old  when  he  en- 
tered college,  he  stood  high  in  scholarship,  being  noted  for 
his  versatility  and  his  excellence  in  English  composition  ;  at 
graduation  he  delivered  the  valedictory  addresses.  He  was 
at  once  appointed  tutor,  and  in  this  office  was  the  intimate 
and  favorite  of  President  Manning.  His  position  as  Man- 
ning's successor  in  the  pastorate  of  the  Baptist  church,  and 
his  union  of  scholarship  with  eloquence,  naturally  pointed 
him  out  for  the  presidency  ;  but  his  youth  gave  pause,  and 
was  doubtless  the  reason  for  his  being  president  pv  tempore 
until  after  five  years  of  trial. 

President  Maxcy's  chief  service  to  Rhode  Island  College 
was  his  teaching  of  oratory  and  belles-lettres  and  widen- 
ing the  fame  of  the  institution  by  his  personal  reputation 
as  an  orator  and  divine.  One  of  his  colleagues  in  South 
Carolina  College  said  in  a  memorial  sketch  :  "As  a  teacher, 
Dr.  Maxcy  enjoyed  a  reputation  higher,  perhaps,  than  that 
of  any  other  president  of  a  college  in  the  United  States.  His 
pupils  all  dwelt  with  admiration,  on  the  clearness  and  com- 
prehension of  his  ideas ;  on  the  preci^$ion  and  aptness  of  his 
expressions."  The  testimonies  to  his  eloquence  are  numer- 

C    132   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

OLis  and  all  of  the  same  tenor.  Tristani  Burges,  himself 
famous  as  an  orator,  spoke  thus  of  his  former  teacher  in 
an  oration  before  the  Federal  Adelphi  in  1831  : 

There  is  an  eloquence  altogether  corporeal:  It  belongs  to  the  \oice 
and  to  the  stature.  The  tongue  seems  to  form  the  thunderbolt  and  the 
hand  to  xvield  it.  The  eloquence  of  Maxcy  was  not  of  this  character. 
.  .  .  He  was  little  of  stature.  His  \oice  seemed  not  to  ha\e  reached 
the  deep  tone  of  full  age.  .  .  .  The  eloquence  of  Maxcy  was  mental : 
You  seemed  to  hear  the  soul  of  the  man ;  and  each  one  of  the  largest 
assembly,  in  the  most  extended  place  of  worship,  rcxei\ed  the  slightest 
impulse  of  his  silver  voice  as  if  he  stood  at  his  very  ear.  So  intensely 
would  he  enchain  attention,  that  in  the  most  thronged  audience,  you 
heard  nothing  but  him,  and  the  pulsations  of  your  o\vn  heart.  His 
utterance  was  not  more  perfect,  than  his  whole  discourse  was  instruc- 
tive and  enchanting. 

The  following  letter,  written  on  July  9,  1819,  by  a  South- 
ern gentleman,  and  published  in  the  Charleston  Cittj  Ga- 
zette of  July  15,  shows  that  in  the  last  years  of  his  life  Presi- 
dent Maxcy  had  still  his  early  power : 

Last  Sunday  we  went  to  hear  Dr.  Maxcy.  It  being  the  4th  of  July, 
it  was  a  discourse  appropriate  to  that  e\entflil  period.  I  had  alwa}'s 
been  led  to  believe  the  Doctor  an  eloquent  and  impressi\e  preacher; 
but  had  no  idea,  till  now,  that  he  possessed  such  transcendant  powers. 
I  never  heard  such  a  stream  of  eloquence —  It  flowed  fi-om  his  lips, 
even  like  the  oil  from  Aaron's  beard.  Ever}^  ear  was  delighted,  txttry 
heart  elated,  every  bosom  throbbed  with  gratitude.  ...  I  was  some- 
times in  pain,  lest  this  good  old  man  should  outdo  himself  and  become 
exhausted;  but  as  he  ad\  anced  in  his  discouree,  he  rose  in  animation, 
till  at  length  he  reached  flights  the  most  sublime,  and  again  descended 
with  the  same  facilit)'  with  which  he  soared.  ...  In  short,  I  never 
heard  an}^hing  to  compare  to  Dr.  Maxcy's  sermon  in  the  course 
of  all  my  life;  and  old  as  I  am,  I  would  now  walk  even  twenty  miles 
through  the  hottest  sands  to  listen  to  such  another  discourse.  I  am  }Xir- 
suaded,  I  shall  never  hear  such  another  in  this  life. 

The  Southern  colleague  already  quoted  said : 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Dr.  Maxcy  was  a  remarkably  powerful  and  fascinating  Preacher. 
Few  men  have  ever  equalled  him  in  the  impressive  solemnity,  and 
awful  fervour  of  his  manner.  There  was  nothing  turgid,  or  affected, 
or  fanatical.  .  .  .  But  though  the  general  manner  of  Dr.  Maxcy  was 
rather  mild  than  vehement,  and  rather  solemn  than  impetuous,  yet 
there  have  been  occasions  upon  which  he  exhibited  an  eloquence  ani- 
mated and  iiTipassioned  in  the  last  degree,  and  which  carried  with  it, 
as  with  the  force  and  rapidity  of  a  torrent,  the  hearts  and  feelings  of 
his  audience. 

The  following  extract  from  a  sermon  on  the  existence  of 
God,  delivered  in  1795,  is  a  fair  example  of  President 
Maxcy 's  more  poetical  style : 

All  parts  of  creation  are  equally  under  his  inspection.  Though  he 
wanns  the  breast  of  the  highest  angel  in  heaven,  yet  he  breathes  life 
into  the  meanest  insect  on  earth.  He  lives  through  all  his  works,  sup- 
porting all  by  the  word  of  his  power.  He  shines  in  the  verdure  that 
cloathes  the  plains,  in  the  lily  that  delights  the  vale,  and  in  the  forest 
that  waves  on  the  mountain.  He  supports  the  slender  reed  that  trem- 
bles in  the  breeze,  and  the  sturdy  oak  that  defies  the  tempest.  His 
presence  cheers  the  inanimate  creation.  Far  in  the  wilderness,  where 
human  eye  never  saw,  where  the  savage  foot  never  trod,  there  he  bids 
the  blooming  forest  smile,  and  the  blushing  rose  open  its  leaves  to  the 
morning  sun.  There  he  cavises  the  feathered  inhabitants  to  whistle  their 
wild  notes  to  the  listening  trees  and  echoing  inountains.  There  nature 
lives  in  all  her  wanton  wildness.  There  the  ravished  eye,  hurrying 
from  scene  to  scene,  is  lost  in  one  vast  blush  of  beauty.  From  the  dark 
stream  that  rolls  through  the  forest,  the  silver  scaled  fish  leap  up, 
and  dumbly  mean  the  praise  of  God.  Though  man  remains  silent, 
yet  God  will  have  praise.  He  regards,  observes,  upholds,  connects  and 
equals  all. 

His  more  intellectual  style,  together  with  his  theory  of  gov- 
ernment (in  which  he  seems  to  have  been  a  discipleof  Burke), 
is  well  illustrated  in  this  passage  from  an  oration  on  July  4, 
1799: 

In  governments  where  there  is  but  one  branch  of  power,  there  is 
no  security  for  liberty.  Simple  deinocracies,  whether  managed  by  the 

C    134  ^ 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

whole  people  assembled,  orb)- their  rej)iesentatives,ha\eal\va)s  proved 
as  tyi"annical  as  the  most  despotic  monarchies,  and  \astly  more  mis- 
chievous. It  is  in  \"ain  to  substitute  theoretical  speculations  in  the  place 
of  facts.  The  modern  zealots  of  revolutionary  reform  ma\-  tell  us 
that  the  science  of  government  is  of  all  othei-s  the  most  simple ;  that 
a  nation,  in  order  to  be  free,  needs  only  an  exertion  of  will;  but  the 
experience  of  ancient  and  modern  times  will  tell  us  that  the  science  of 
government  is  of  all  othere  the  most  intricate ;  because  it  is  to  be  de- 
duced from  principles  which  nothing  but  experiment  can  developer  and 
that  a  nation,  in  order  to  be  free,  needs  some  wisdom  as  well  as  will. 

The  superior  of  Manning  in  fancy,  elegance,  and  intensit}-, 
though  hardly  his  equal  in  \'irile  force,  Maxcy  was  broader 
of  outlook  and  more  liberal  in  thought.  In  his  address  to  the 
seniors  at  Commencement  in  1794  he  said: 

Should  any  of  vou  assume  the  character  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
let  me  advise  you  to  fonn  your  faith  immediateh'  from  the  sacred 
scriptures.  Emancipate  your  souls  from  the  force  of  prejudice,  anni- 
hilate all  attachment  to  particular  systems,  exalt  yourselves  to  a  noble 
independency  of  thought.  .  .  .  Let  not  the  peculiarities  of  }'Our  reli- 
gious faith  confine  your  benevolent  affections  and  exertions  within 
the  narrow  limits  of  a  parly.  Neither  let  a  cynical  moroseness,  nor  a 
fanatical  zeal,  impo\erish  your  hearts,  and  rob  you  of  the  elegant  com- 
merce and  rational  enjovTnents  of  human  life.  The  sour  scowl  of  a 
hypocrite  is  as  offensive  to  heaven  as  the  open  profanity  of  an  infidel. 

In  defending  certain  of  his  views  that  had  incurred  dis- 
pleasure, he  must  have  horrified  most  of  his  brethren  still 
more  by  recognizing  Priestley  and  other  Unitarians  as  fel- 
low Christians.  He  said: 

All  men  have  full  liberty  of  opinion,  and  ought  to  enjoy  it  without 
subjecting  themselves  to  the  imputation  of  heresy.  For  my  own  part, 
I  can  safely  say,  that  I  have  never  been  disposed  to  confine  myself 
to  the  peculiar  tenets  of  any  sect  of  religionists  whatever.  .  .  .  An 
entire  coincidence  in  sentiment,  even  in  important  doctrines,  is  b}' 
no  means  essential  to  christian  society,  or  the  attainment  of  eternal 
felicity.  How  man^'  are  there  who  appear  to  have  been  subjects  of 

C   135  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

regeneration,  who  have  scarcely  an  entire,  comprehensive  view  of  one 
doctrine  in  the  Bible?  Will  the  gates  of  Paradise  be  barred  against 
these,  because  they  did  not  possess  the  penetrating  sagacity  of  an  Ed- 
wards, or  Hopkins  ?  Or  shall  these  great  theological  champions  engross 
heaven,  and  shout  hallelujahs  fiom  its  walls,  while  a  Priestly,  a  Price, 
and  a  Winchester,  merely  for  difference  in  opinion,  though  pre-emi- 
nent in  \irtue,  must  sink  into  the  regions  of  darkness  and  pain ? 

It  speaks  well  for  the  liberality  of  the  Corporation  that  the 
next  year  they  elected  Maxcy  to  the  full  presidency. 

"As  a  scholar,"  says  Professor  Elton,  "Dr.  Maxcy  was 
one  of  the  most  learned  men  which  our  country  has  pro^ 
duced.  Criticism,  metaphysics,  politics,  morals,  and  theol- 
ogy all  occupied  his  attention.  His  stores  of  knowledge  were 
immense,  and  he  had  at  all  times  the  command  over  them. ' ' 
This  statement  must  have  been  more  true  of  him  in  his 
later  years  than  during  his  presidency  of  Rhode  Island 
College;  it  is  noteworthy,  however,  that  Harvard  College 
conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  S.T.D.  in  1801,  when  he 
was  only  thirty-three  years  of  age. 

"In  his  person,"  Elton  says,  "Dr.  Maxcy  was  rather 
small  of  stature,  of  a  fine  form  and  well  proportioned.  All 
his  movements  were  graceful  and  dignified.  His  features 
were  regular  and  manly,  indicating  intelligence  and  be- 
nevolence ;  and,  especially,  when  exercised  in  conversation 
or  public  speaking,  they  were  strongly  expressive,  and  ex- 
hibited the  energy  of  the  soul  that  animated  them."  No 
likeness  of  him  exists  except  a  silhouette,  which  shows  a 
rounded  head,  rather  full  lips,  and  a  somewhat  prominent 
nose,  slightly  aquiline. 

Under  such  a  president  the  study  of  rhetoric  and  oratory 
would  naturally  be  given  great  prominence  and  be  taught 
with  much  success.  The  fact  that  more  than  half  the  grad- 
uates of  Maxcy 's  time  entered  the  law  or  the  ministry  af- 

C    136  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

fords  striking  proof  that  this  was  the  case.  His  most  dis- 
tinguished pupil  in  the  oratorical  art,  Tristam  Burges,  the 
man  who  as  Congressman  from  Rhode  Island  successfully 
stemmed  the  tide  of  John  Randolph's  sarcastic  eloquence, 
spoke  thus  of  the  instruction  in  public  speaking  under  Man- 
ning and  Maxcy : 

It  was  not  the  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  (falsely  so  called,)  which  in 
their  time,  gave  lustre  to  instructions;  it  was  Rhetoric  itself;  the  di- 
vine art  of  persuasion,  which,  on  their  tongues,  inspired  their  disciples 
with  the  desire  to  imitate,  and  the  hope  to  resemble  them.  .  .  .  You 
all  remember  the  elevated  ad\anced  stage  where  the  speaker  took  his 
stand,  when,  under  super\ision  of  the  whole  authority,  suirounded  b\' 
the  entire  collegiate  assembly,  awed  b^'  the  continued  and  persad- 
ing  spirit  of  the  hour  and  the  occasion,  he  gave  utterance  to  his  own, 
as  soon  as  the  last  echo  of  the  voice  of  devotion  had  ceased  to  whis- 
per in  the  ear  of  the  listening  audience.  It  was  not  to  all  the  assem- 
bled Greeks,  it  was  not  at  the  Olpnpic  Games  that  he  spoke ;  but  the 
pupil,  who  passed  through  this  ordeal,  under  the  eye  of  Manning 
or  Maxcy,  has  never  since  that  time,  with  more  anxiet}'  prepared 
himself  for  any  other;  or  gone  through  it  with  more  fe<u-  and  trem- 
bling. ...  In  belles  lettres  and  eloquence,  where  was  the  institution 
in  our  country,  the  character  of  which  stood  more  permanently  distin- 
guished. 

The  same  comfortable  opinion  of  the  excellence  of  the  ora- 
tory in  Rhode  Island  College  is  found  in  a  letter  of  James 
Tallmadge,  Jr.,  who  wrote  to  a  classmate  in  1798  :  "I  at- 
tended the  Commencement  at  Newhaven  and  find  it  though 
much  celebrated,  not  equal  to  ours.  The  students  speak  for- 
mally and  likewise  theatrically.  Their  compositions  were 
very  poor,  scarcely  equal  to  our  Sophomore  productions." 
This  is  at  least  proof  that  the  ideals  of  speaking,  under 
Maxcy,  included  simplicity  and  naturalness. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  subjects  of  the 
Commencement  speeches  at  this  time  gre^\■  more  and  more 

C    137   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

general:  "Mental  Improvement"  was  treated  in  1792, 
1795,  1797,  and  1800,  and  such  topics  as  "War,"  "Edu- 
cation," "Enthusiasm  of  Opinion,"  occurred  frequently. 
But  the  programs  still  had  subjects  of  a  more  definite  and 
local  nature,  as  "An  Oration  recommending  Rhode  Island 
College  to  the  Patronage  of  the  State,"  and  "An  Oration, 
on  the  Indignities  offered  America  by  France."  The  exer- 
cises also  retained  their  old-time  variety,  English,  Latin, 
and  Greek  jostling  one  another,  while  orations  and  disser- 
tations were  intermingled  with  disputes,  conferences,  dia- 
logues, and  poems.  The  Latin  dispute  had  been  given  up; 
but  in  English  the  young  disputants  attempted  such  ques- 
tions as  "Is  it  for  the  Interest  of  the  United  States  to  assist 
the  French  Revolution  against  its  Enemies  in  the  present 
War?"  "Whether  the  Use  of  Spirituous  Liquors  is  ad- 
vantageous to  Mankind?  "  and  "Is  Marriage  conducive  to 
Happiness?"  The  dialogues  often  introduced  a  humorous 
element,  as  in  a  "Dialogue,  designed  to  ridicule  Quack- 
ery in  Professions, ' '  ' '  The  Bachelors, ' '  and  ' '  The  Fall  of 
Fashion."  Even  the  conferences  were  sometimes  facetious, 
as  in  "Astronomy  burlesqued."  Humor  must  have  been  a 
welcome  relief  in  a  program  of  twenty  or  more  numbers ; 
and  it  was  allowed  even  in  the  poems,  some  of  which  would 
now  be  considered  too  undignified  for  the  occasion. 

Several  of  the  speeches  of  this  period  have  survived,  be- 
ing "published  by  request,"  and  enable  us  to  form  an  esti- 
mate of  college  rhetoric  under  Maxcy.  Modern  judgment  on 
them  cannot  be  wholly  favorable.  They  seem  inflated,  occu- 
pied more  with  words  than  with  thoughts,  and  the  words 
are  commonly  too  long  and  too  learned.  The  imagery  is  often 
profuse  and  occasionally  ridiculous .  The  sequence  of  thoughts 
is  sometimes  confused;  the  thoughts  themselves  are  usually 
commonplace;  there  is  no  close  grapple  with  facts,  and  the 

C    '38   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

reasoning  is  generally  loose.  Yet  fluency  and  a  kind  of  power 
there  certainly  are  in  these  productions,  \\hile  the  defects 
are  chiefly  those  of  youthful  exuberance.  Some  specimens 
are  moderate  and  sensible  throughout;  and  occasionally  the 
floridity  itself  held  a  promise  realized  in  later  years,  as  in 
these  sentences  from  the  Commencement  oration  of  Tris- 
tam  Burges  in  1796: 

By  imagination,  man  seems  to  verge  towards  creative  power.  Aided 
by  this,  he  can  perfomi  all  the  wonders  of  sculpture  and  painting.  He 
can  almost  make  the  marble  speak.  He  can  almost  make  the  brook 
murmur  down  the  painted  landscape.  Often,  on  the  pinions  of  imagi- 
nation, he  soars  aloft;  where  the  eye  has  never  travelled ;  where  other 
stars  glitter  on  the  mantle  of  night,  and  a  more  effulgent  sun  lights 
up  the  blushes  of  morning.  Flying  from  world  to  world,  he  gazes  on 
all  the  glories  of  creation :  or,  lighting  on  the  distant  margin  of  the 
universe,  daits  the  eye  of  fancy  over  the  mighty  void,  where  power 
creative  never  yet  has  energized,  where  existence  still  sleeps  in  the  wide 
abyss  of  possibility. 

Whatever  the  present  judgment  on  Commencement  oratory 
of  that  time,  the  Commencements  were  increasingly  popu- 
lar, forming  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  life  of  the  college 
and  the  town .  The  following  extracts  from  reminiscences  of 
them  near  the  end  of  Maxcy's  administration,  \\Titten  by 
' '  Old  Citizen ' '  and  first  published  in  The  Providence  Journal^ 
July  2,  1851,  give  vivid  pictures  of  these  vanished  scenes: 

Commencement  formerly  was  the  Festival  of  Providence.  .  .  .  The 
town  was  filled  with  strangers.  .  .  .  The  principal  mode  of  convey- 
ance was  the  square  top  chaise,  long  since  disairded  for  the  bellows 
top  chaise  and  other  carriages.  They  would  begin  to  arriAe  on  Mon- 
day, but  on  Tuesday  toward  sunset  every  avenue  to  the  town  was 
filled  with  them.  In  the  stable  yards  of  the  "  Golden  Ball  Inn,"  "The 
Montgomer)' Tavern,"  and  other  ])ublic  houses  on  \^^ednesda^'  morn- 
ing, you  could  see  hundreds  of  them,  each  numbered  b\'  the  hostlers 
on  the  dashers  with  chalk,  to  prevent  mistakes.  .  .  . 

How  long  the  twilight  of  Tuesday  used  to  appear.  .  .  .  Before  it 

[    139   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN    UNIVERSITY 

is  fairly  dark  the  College  yard  is  filled  with  ladies  and  gentlemen  of 
all  ages  and  sizes.  Not  a  light  is  to  be  seen  at  the  College  windows. 
Anon  the  College  bell  rings,  and  eight  tallow  candles  at  each  window 
shed  their  rich  luxuriant  yellow  light  on  the  crowd  below.  The  cur- 
tain rises  from  the  box  at  the  pediment,  and  there  emblazoned  in  light 
is  our  national  emblem,  the  spread  eagle,  talking  Latin  to  this  same 
crowd.  In  later  times,  the  eagle  gave  place  to  "the  temple  of  science." 
Loud  was  the  cheering  and  long  did  it  continue,  even  until  several 
taps  on  a  bass  druin  intimated  the  presence  of  the  band  of  music  which 
the  graduating  class  had  hired  to  discourse  music  on  Commencement 
dav.  The  band  aiTange  themselves  on  the  front  steps  of  the  old  chapel, 
and  make  the  welkin  ring  again,  with  Washington's  March,  Hail  Co- 
lumbia, and  other  appropriate  tunes.  At  a  given  signal  from  the  Col- 
lege bell,  the  music  ceases,  the  lights  are  simultaneously  extinguished, 
and  the  spectators  and  auditors  left  in  darkness  that  could  almost  be 
felt  to  find  their  homes.  .  .  . 

Day  breaks  at  last  and  the  rising  sun  is  saluted  by  two  of  the  brass 
field  pieces  which  Burgoyne  surrendered  at  Saratoga.  An  old  revo- 
lutionary drummer  and  fifer  are  playing  the  re\eille  through  the 
principal  streets  of  the  town.  .  .  .  The  boys  can  scarcely  be  staved 
for  their  breakfasts.  Their  imaginations  are  too  much  excited  to  leave 
any  appetite  for  ordinary  food.  Before  nine  o'clock  Commencement 
morning  the  current  is  again  setting  towards  the  College.  The  great 
gate  has  been  thrown  wide  open,  the  turn-stile  would  not  afford  space 
enough  for  those  who  are  now  going  to  pay  their  morning  devoirs 
to  Alma  Mater.  .  .  .  The  military  escort  has  halted  without  the  gate. 
The  procession  is  fomied  now  as  it  was  in  former  tiines,  excepting 
only  the  escort.  They  proceed  down  College  street,  up  Main  street  and 
President  street,  and  enter  the  Old  Baptist  at  the  South  door.  The 
Trustees  and  Fellows,  that  "  learned  faculty,"  occupy  a  stage  on  the 
North  side  of  the  pulpit,  the  graduating  class  one  on  the  South  side, 
while  in  front  is  that  on  which  the  speakers  are  to  appear.  The  band 
of  music  are  in  the  West  gallery  where  the  Organ  now  is. 

After  describing  the  morning  speeches  and  the  return  of 
the  procession  to  the  college,  "Old  Citizen "  goes  on : 

They  changed  front  at  the  dining-hall  door.  —  From  this  the  under- 
graduates were  excluded.  The  hall  was  generally  well  filled  in  a  very 

[    140    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

short  space  of  time,  each  old  gi-adiiate  well  jireparecl  to  keep  down  the 
interest  on  the  four  dollars  he  inxested  in  the  commencement  dinner 
fund  when  he  was  in  college.  There  used  to  be  wine,  too,  on  the  tables, 
and  doctors  in  divinit},  after  the  unusual  laboi-s  of  the  moniing,  deemed 
it  not  improper  to  indulge  in  one  glass,  and  in  at  least  one  more,  to 
enable  them  to  undergo  the  fatigues  and  pleasures  of  the  afternoon.  We 
generally  had  "short  commons"  on  this  occasion,  not  in  focxl,  quan- 
tity or  quality,  but  in  time,  as  the  undergraduates  were  waiting  to  take 
oui-  places.  Not  a  word  is  uttered  at  the  table,  except  "the  grace,"  and 
"the  thanks;"  each  seems  ambitious  to  show  forth  his  faith  hx  his 
works.  The  graduates,  trustees,  &c.,  wait  in  the  chapel  \vhlle  the  un- 
dergraduates swallow  what  they  have  left  on  the  dinner  tables,  then 
the  procession  is  again  formed  as  before,  and  again  to  the  meeting 
house.  The  rest  of  the  class  now  speak  "their  pieces,"  occup}ing  two 
or  three  hours.  .  .  .  Again  the  procession  is  formed  and  proceeds  to 
the  College,  and  thus  ends  commencement  proper.  .  .  . 

Many  an  aching  head  longs  for  its  pillow  commencement  night.  .  .  . 
We  arose  on  Thursda\'  moniing  resolved  to  be  cured  by  a  repetition 
of  a  similar  round  of  literary  excess.  At  ten  o'clock,  "The  Federal 
Adelphi"  met  at  College  to  elect  their  officers,  and  then  to  go  in  pro- 
cession to  some  meeting  house,  and  hear  an  oration  fi-om  some  old 
graduate.  This  society  was  supposed  to  consist  of  the  most  talented,  as 
well  as  the  most  wealthy  children  of  Alma  Mater.  Associated  under 
their  half  English  name,  decorated  with  blue  ribbons,  and  no  silver 
medals,  professing  mysterious  rites  of  initiation  and  advantages  unut- 
terable to  the  initiated,  and  always  meeting  the  da\'  after  commence- 
ment and  having  a  good  dinner,  if  not  a  good  oration,  and  good 
wine  in  plents",  the  societv  was  a  vers*  popular  one.  .  .  .  Thus  closed  the 
literary  exercises  of  commencement. 

Such  was  Commencement  week  under  President  Maxcy. 
That  the  growth  of  the  college,  and  the  growing  interest  in 
it  on  at  least  one  day  in  the  year,  brought  new  difficulties 
both  within  and  without  the  meeting-house  is  show  n  bv 
votes  of  the  Corporation  in  1791  and  1795: 

Voted.  That  in  ftiture,  all  the  exercises  of  the  Commencement,  be 
previously  exhibited  to  the  facult\'  of  the  College  for  coiTectlon  & 

C    141    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

approved  of  by  them  &  that  they  do  not  in  the  whole  exceed  two 
hours  in  the  forenoon  &  the  same  time  in  the  afternoon. 

Voted,  That  the  Town  Council  of  the  Town,  be  requested  to  prevent 
any  Booths,  or  other  recepticles  for  persons  or  vendible  articles  from 
being  erected  in  the  public  Streets,  North  and  South  of  the  Baptist 
Meeting-house,  or  in  the  main  street  or  back  street  East  and  West  of 
said  Meeting-house,  and  between  the  extremities  of  the  aforesaid  cross 
streets,  or  in  the  gang- way  leading  to  the  river  between  the  house's  of 
Messrs.  Nathan  Angell  and  Jonathan  Tillinghast. 

The  increase  in  number  of  students  was  fairly  steady,  so 
far  as  can  be  told  by  means  of  stray  references  which  have 
escaped  the  burying  hand  of  Time.  In  1793-94  the  num- 
ber was  83,  as  shown  by  Maxcy's  college  account-book; 
in  1798  it  was  about  100,  according  to  Peres  Fobes,  in  a 
letter  to  the  Corporation  of  later  date;  in  October,  1800, 
when  the  first  catalogue  of  undergraduates  was  published, 
in  "broadside"  form,  it  was  107;  and  in  a  financial  esti- 
mate for  the  next  year  it  is  set  at  112.  This  growth  was  not 
due  wholly  to  the  reputation  of  President  Maxcy  and  the 
Faculty :  for  several  years  Professor  Fobes  was  employed  to 
turn  students  toward  the  college,  a  work  which  his  posi- 
tion as  head  of  a  school  in  Massachusetts  enabled  him  to 
do  with  advantage.  The  catalogue  of  1800  aifords  proof 
that  the  college  was  not  yet  drawing  students  from  a  very 
wide  area  :  93  per  cent  came  from  New  England ;  of  these 
all  but  four  came  from  Rhode  Island  and  Massachusetts, 
and  the  four  were  from  nearby  Connecticut.  It  is  rather 
surprising  to  find  that  Massachusetts  supplied  74  students, 
and  Rhode  Island  only  22.  One  student  came  from  New 
York  State,  2  students  from  Virginia,  and  4  from  South 
Carolina. 

The  increase  in  income  from  growing  numbers  is  clearly- 
shown  by  two  contemporary  statements.  One,  in  the  Cor- 

C    142    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

poration  records  for  October  8, 1793,  gives  the  income  for 
the  preceding  year  thus  :  tuition,  $1088  ;  library  fees,  $204  ; 
interest  of  fund,  $366.67  ;  a  total  of  $1658.67.  The  other, 
preserved  among  some  miscellaneous  papers,  is  indorsed, 
"Estimate  of  The  Funds  of  the  College  Septr  1801": 
"Tuition  Room  Rent  &  Library  of  112  Schollers "  are  en- 
tered as  $2688  (tuition  at  $16,  room  rent  at  $4,  and  li- 
brary fees  at  $4) ;  "Product  of  Permanent  funds,"  $500; 
total,  $3188.  This  gain  in  resources,  modest  as  they  still 
were,  enabled  the  Corporation  to  raise  salaries.  President 
Maxcy's  salary  in  1792  was  £100,  or  $333.33;  in  1795 
it  was  $600;  in  1801,  $1000;  in  each  case  the  fees  from 
the  graduating  class,  and  the  use  of  the  president's  house 
and  the  adjoining  land,  were  added.  The  resident  professor 
received  £90,  or  $300,  in  1792,  $357  in  1795,  and  $600 
in  1801.  The  salary  of  a  tutor  rose  from  £65,  or  $217,  in 
1792,  to  $287  in  1795,  and  $350  in  1801. 

These  salaries  were  still  low  compared  with  those  in  other 
professions  and  even  in  some  of  the  other  colleges.  The  Fac- 
ulty could  not  be  much  enlarged,  and  there  was  litde  left 
for  other  needs :  in  1  800  the  appropriation  for  the  library 
was  $200 ;  the  next  year  it  was  $100,  "for  New  Books  & 
Repairing  &  Binding  Books."  In  these  circumstances  it  is 
not  strange  that  the  old  device  of  a  lottery  Mas  thought  of. 
On  December  23, 1795,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  pray 
the  General  Assembly  for  ' '  the  grant  of  a  Lottery  to  raise 
the  sum  not  exceeding  25,000  Dollars,  to  be  applied  to  the 
use  of  this  institution. "  The  plan  matured  slowly,  for  it  was 
September  5,  1798,  when  the  Corporation  voted,  "That 
the  College  Lottery  shall  Commence  drawing  the  second 
Wednesday  of  October  next,  and  continue  till  the  same  be 
completed."  President  Maxcy  took  303  tickets  to  sell,  at 
six  dollars  apiece,  and  sold  168  of  them.  The  final  account 

[    143   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  the  managers,  rendered  on  November  8,  1800,  showed 
a  total  business  of  $33,548.50,  with  a  "Neat  drawback" 
of  $8000. 

The  hope  for  a  generous  benefactor  also  lingered  still  in 
the  minds  of  the  Corporadon.  On  September  3,  1795,  they 
voted  ' '  That  any  person  giving  to  this  Corporation  the  sum 
of  Six  thousand  dollars,  or  good  security  therefor,  before 
the  next  annual  Commencement,  shall  have  the  honour  of 
naming  this  university."  How  much  effort  was  made  to 
find  a  patron  is  unknown ;  but  on  October  26,  1795,  Presi- 
dent Maxcy  wrote  thus  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richard  Furman, 
a  prominent  man  among  the  South  Carolina  Bapdsts : 

Our  College  flourishes  as  to  numbers,  but  is  very  barren  as  to  funds. 
A  lottery  has  been  suggested  as  a  sure  method  of  increasing  them. 
Do  you  think  it  would  meet  with  encouragement  in  your  part  of 
the  Country'  ?  We  extremely  need  flmds  for  the  establishment  of  2  or 
3  professorships.  This  I  conceive  the  onh'  way  in  which  education 
can  be  carried  on  as  it  ought  to  be.  Nothing  injures  an  institution 
more  than  a  perpetual  change  of  instructors.  This  will  always  be  the 
case,  unless  friends  can  be  procured  to  afford  sufficient  encourage- 
ment to  men  of  capacit^^  This  College  is  still  without  a  7iame.  No  bene- 
factor has  appeared.  The  corporation  at  their  last  meeting  past  a 
resolution  that  if  any  person  would  previous  to  the  next  Commence- 
ment, give  to  the  College  ^6,000,  he  should  have  the  right  to  name 
it.  Have  you  no  eminent  rich  man  among  you,  who  might  be  dis- 
posed ? 

The  great  benefactor  was  to  arise  nearer  home,  but  not  for 
some  years.  Meanwhile  there  were  various  small  gifts  for 
special  purposes.  In  1792  Nicholas  Brown  gave  the  college 
a  law  library,  comprising  some  three  hundred  and  fifty  vol- 
umes, which  he  imported  from  England  at  a  cost  of  £138 
sterling,  or  nearly  $700.  The  college,  however,  did  not  get 
the  benefit  of  the  books  at  once,  for  they  were  placed  by 
the  donor  "  for  a  term  of  time"  in  Mr.  Howell's  office ;  but 

C    144   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  1804  they  were  delivered  up,  whereupon  the  Corpora- 
tion advised  that  "a  conspicuous  alcove"  be  prepared  for 
them  in  the  "Library-Room,"  and  voted  that  no  part  of 
the  collection  should  be  taken  out  "  by  any  person  whom- 
soever." In  1793  a  catalogue  of  the  whole  college  library 
was  published,  which  showed  a  total  number  of  2173  vol- 
umes. Little  money  could  be  spared  for  its  increase  and 
upkeep  during  Maxcy's  presidency,  and  there  seems  to  have 
been  some  laxity  in  the  care  of  it.  A  report  of  the  library 
committee  on  September  4,  1797,  complains  that  books 
have  been  kept  out  for  "several  years  past,"  although  the 
persons  keeping  them  had  been  notified ;  the  chief  offenders 
were  a  professor  and  a  fellow.  Another  report  at  about  the 
same  time  urges  the  enforcement  of  the  legal  penalty  for 
failure  to  return  books ;  and  says  that  "some  of  the  books 
particularly  a  Number  of  old  folio  Volumes  are  injur'd  by 
the  Worms  which  they  Conceive  may  be  prevented  in  fu- 
ture by  having  the  books  together  with  the  shelves  Carefully 
brush'd  at  Certain  Periods,"  The  freshmen,  meanwhile, 
were  granted  new  privileges  by  a  vote  of  the  Corporation 
on  September  6,  1796,  "  That  the  Freshman  Class  be  in 
future  admitted  to  the  use  of  the  College  Library  on  the 
same  terms  as  the  other  Students." 

The  scientific  apparatus  and  collections  fared  somewhat 
better,  although  an  entry  in  the  Corporation  records  of  1795 
reveals  a  pitiful  gratitude  for  small  favors  :  "  Voted,  That 
the  thanks  of  this  Corporation  be  presented  to  Mr.  Jones 
Welch  of  Boston,  Merchant,  for  his  present  to  this  Cor- 
poration of  a  preserved  bird  called  the  Curlieu  of  Cayenne, 
and  a  Calabash  curiously  wrought  by  the  Natives  of  Cay- 
enne, to  be  deposited  in  the  Museum."  On  such  casual 
windfalls  did  the  illustration  of  the  truths  of  natural  his- 
tory then  depend.  Natural  philosophy  received  more  ample 

[    145   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

support.  When  Professor  Fobes  resigned  his  chair  in  1798, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Professor  Messer,  he  left  his  appara- 
tus at  the  college,  receiving  $50  a  year  for  the  use  of  it.  In 
1799  Mr.  Samuel  Elam,  of  Newport,  gave  $500  for  the  pur- 
chase of  apparatus,  and  $300  more  the  next  year.  The 
Corporation  authorized  the  President  to  get  the  aid  of  the 
Rev.  John  Prince,  of  Salem,  in  buying  the  instruments, 
and  to  ' '  have  conspicuously  engraven  thereon  the  name  of 
the  Donor."  They  also  requested  Dr.  Prince  to  have  "the 
Air  pump  and  telescope,  now  belonging  to  this  College,  re- 
paired and  fitted  for  use,"  and  appointed  a  committee  "to 
procure  a  room  in  the  College  to  be  suitably  repaired  and 
fitted  for  the  Philosophical  apparatus,  and  for  the  exhi- 
bition of  Lectures,  &:c."  The  original  list  of  articles  bought 
with  Mr.  Elam's  donation,  still  on  file  in  the  archives,  in- 
cludes these  items  and  prices,  some  of  the  latter  scrupu- 
lously carried  out  to  mills :  An  electrical  machine,  with 
ten-inch  cylinders,  $37.33.3;  "inflammable  air  pistol," 
$2.16.7;  "mounted  flask  for  Aurora  Borealis,"  $1.87.5; 
"An  artificial  Eye,"  $9.10  ;  "An  improved  wind  mill  for 
airpump,"  $10.40;  "An  hydrostatic  machine  for  shew- 
ing the  spouting  of  fluids  in  parabola  &  semiparabola," 
$30.00;  "an  orrery  on  brass  stand,"  $202.33. 

The  curriculum  and  methods  of  instruction  under  Maxcy 
seem  to  have  been  substantially  the  same  as  under  Man- 
ning. But  some  new  light  is  thrown  on  the  intellectual  life 
of  the  undergraduates  by  the  records  of  the  library,  which 
begin  at  about  this  time,  and  show  that  a  great  deal  of  solid 
reading  was  done.  David  R.  Williams,  governor  of  South 
Carolina  in  1814-16,  who  was  a  student  in  Providence  for 
two  vears,  took  out  books  nearly  every  \\'eek,  and  came 
back  for  the  successive  volumes  of  ^\orks  in  sets ;  before 
vacations  he  laid  in  a  stock  for  the  weeks  when  the  librar}^ 

[    146   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

would  be  closed.  The  quality  of  his  reading  may  be  seen 
by  the  following  list,  which  is  complete: 

1793.  Nov.  16:  Robertson's  Charles  V.,  vol.  4.  Nov.  23:  Female 
Ruin,  vol.  1.  Nov.  25:  Gibbon,  vol.  2.  Dec.  5,  12,  21 :  Shakespeare, 
vols.  2,  3,  5.  — 1794.  Jan.  4:  Shakespeare,  vols.  7,  10;  Pope's  Odys- 
sey, vols.  1,  2;  Robertson's  America,  vol.  3;  Vertot's  Re\'olution 
in  Sweden;  Marshall's  Travels,  vol.  1.  Feb.  8:  Marshall's  Travels, 
vol.  2;  De  Witt's  Political  Maxims.  Feb.  18:  Andei-son's  History  of 
France,  vol.  2.  Mar.  2,  8:  Robertson's  Scotland,  vols.  1,  2.  Mar.  15, 
22:  Moore's  Travels  in  France,  vols.  1,  2.  Mar.  29:  Rousseau's 
Inequality.  April  1,  5:  Moore's  Travels  in  Italy,  vols.  1,  2.  April  12, 
19,  26,  May  2:  Addison,  vols.  1-4.  May  8:  Vaillant's  Travels,  vol. 
2;  RoUin's  Roman  Histor)^  vols.  1,  2.  June  7:  Vertot's  Revolution 
in  Portugal;  Vertot's  Revolution  in  Rome,  vol.  2.  June  21:  Mon- 
tagu's Letters;  Life  of  Queen  Anne,  vol.  1.  July  3 :  Thomson's  Poems, 
vols.  2,  3.  Julv  9, 16 :  Young's  Poems,  vols.  3-6,  July  25 :  Congreve's 
Plays,  Otvvay's  Plays.  Oct.  31,  Nov.  8:  RoUin's  Roman  Histoiy, 
vols.  5,  6.  Nov.  15,  22:  RoUin's  Belles  Lettres,  vols.  1-4.  Nov.  29, 
Dec.  6:  European  Settlements,  vols.  1,  2.  Dec.  13,  20,  27:  Kaimes's 
Sketches  of  the  Histor)^  of  Man,  vols.  1,  3,  4.  Dec.  27:  The  Specta- 
tor, vols.  1,  2. 

Two  undergraduate  societies  were  formed  during  Maxcy's 
administration.  The  Misokosmian  Society,  founded  in  1794, 
was  remodeled  in  1798,  and  changed  its  name  to  the  Phi- 
lermenian  Society.  It  held  fortnighdy  meedngs,  for  debates, 
speeches,  and  declamations,  and  the  reading  of  essays  and 
poems,  and  began  in  1798  to  collect  a  library.  On  the  day 
before  Commencement  occurred  its  anniversary  meeting, 
at  this  time  held  in  the  chapel,  when  an  oration  and  a  poem 
were  delivered  by  undergraduate  members.  Membership 
was  limited  to  forty-five,  and  the  society  was  pracdcally 
secret,  with  certificates  of  membership  dra^n  up  in  sono- 
rous Latin.  In  1799  a  branch  of  the  Philandrian  Society 
was  established  in  the  college.  This  made  more  of  the  social 
life,  but  also  gave  much  attention  to  speaking :  it  held  four 

C    147   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

quarterly  meetings,  at  which  there  were  ahvays  a  lecture 
on  politeness  and  a  debate ;  at  the  anniversary  meeting, 
which  was  not  usually  held  in  Providence,  there  were  as  a 
rule  an  oration  and  poem,  and  might  be  debates,  dialogues, 
and  such  exercises. 

The  first  organization  of  graduates  also  had  its  beginning 
in  this  decade.  Certain  of  the  3'ounger  alumni,  including 
Samuel  Eddy,  William  Hunter,  Paul  Allen,  and  Tristam 
Burges,  with  Professors  Howell  and  West  and  the  former 
tutor,  Ashur  Robbins,  formed  the  society  of  the  Federal 
Adelphi  in  November,  1797.  The  purpose  of  the  society, 
according  to  its  charter,  was  "Improvement  in  the  Arts 
and  Sciences"  ;  Tristam  Burges,  in  his  oration  before  it  in 
1831,  said  the  society  was  founded  to  give  a  higher  degree 
of  perfection  to  studies  begun  in  college,  and  the  context 
shows  that  he  referred  chiefly  to  the  study  of  oratory.  Mem- 
bership was  limited  to  holders  of  college  degrees,  members 
of  the  learned  professions,  and  seniors  and  juniors  in  Rhode 
Island  College.  Professor  Howell  was  the  first  president, 
serving  from  1797  to  1802.  The  society  took  itself  seriously, 
and  for  many  years  its  meeting  formed  an  attractive  adden- 
dum to  Commencement.  In  the  archives  is  a  letter  from 
the  society  to  the  Corporation,  inviting  them  to  attend  the 
meeting  in  1799,  when  Tristam  Burges  gave  the  oration; 
so  far  as  is  known,  this  is  the  first  communication  to  the 
Corporation  from  an  organized  body  of  alumni. 

The  growing  sense  of  solidarity  which  led  to  these  stu- 
dent organizations  might  easily  lead  also  to  growing  resist- 
ance, more  or  less  organized,  against  college  authority  and 
laws.  President  Maxcy's  government,  according  to  Elton, 
"  was  reasonable,  firm  and  uniform,  and  marked  in  its  ad- 
ministration by  kindness,  frankness  and  dignity.  He  did 
not  attempt  to  support  his  authoritv,  as  is  sometimes  done, 

C  148  ]" 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

by  distance,  austerity  and  menace,  but  liis  pupils  \\  ere  ad- 
dressed and  treated  as  young  gentlemen. ' '  The  j^upils,  how- 
ever, did  not  always  choose  to  be  "young  gentlemen,"  and 
there  was  undoubtedly  some  relaxation  of  the  bonds  of  dis- 
cipline and  some  lowering  of  moral  tone  among  the  under- 
graduates as  a  whole.  In  the  laws  themselves  there  was  no 
relaxation.  The  Supplement  to  the  Laws  of  1793,  extracts 
from  which  may  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  fastens  the  fet- 
ters more  firmly  upon  the  freshmen,  and  seeks  to  strengthen 
the  distinctions  between  all  the  classes.  It  is  likely  that  the 
need  for  such  legislation  sprang  from  a  tendency  on  the  part 
of  the  students  to  disregard  what  was  then  considered  due 
deference  to  superior  station. 

The  rules  forbidding  students  to  leave  the  college  yard 
in  study  hours  seem  to  ha\e  been  well  obeved  b}-  the  better 
men,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  case  of  Tristam  Burges,  1796, 
who,  in  a  letter  to  John  Rowland  in  1849,  said  that  he  knew 
little  of  Providence  until  after  his  graduation:  "For,"  he 
wrote,  "though  I  had  resided  in  the  town  more  than  three 
years  at  that  time,  yet  my  residence  was  at  the  college  ;  nor 
was  I  in  the  street  more  than  once  a  week,  and  then  on  the 
Sabbath."  On  the  other  hand,  a  student  writing  in  1799 
says  of  two  of  his  fellows  :"  Old  Die  Shins  around  among 
the  girls  with  the  utmost  freedom.  Young  Daniel  throws 
Glass  bottles,  &  is  raking  about  every  night."  It  was  pos- 
sible, too,  to  defy  authority  and  follow  nature  while  staying 
within  the  college  walls.  Tristam  Burges's  biographer  thus 
describes  a  "  merry  meeting  "  and  its  interruption:  "The 
first  night  after  the  class  met,  in  the  first  term,  there  was 
a  grand  festival  (as  it  was  then  represented)  of  the  w  hole 
class.  .  .  .  In  the  midst  of  their  jollity,  as  the  table  was  cov- 
ered with  decanters,  pitchers,  glasses,  wine  and  all  kinds  of 
fragments,  the  tutor's  cane  was  heard,  at  the  door,  and  in 

C    149   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

a  moment  Mr.  Messer  stood  before  them."  In  connection 
with  this  anecdote  the  following  vote  of  the  Corporation  a 
year  before  has  greater  significance  : ' '  Voted  That  the  Stew- 
ard shall  not  be  permitted  on  any  pretence  to  sell  any  Spir- 
ituous Liquors  to  the  Students  except  Cyder."  But  all  pre- 
cautions failed  to  keep  some  students  from  intemperance, 
although  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  vice  was  common. ' '  I 
am  sorry  to  inform  you,"  writes  a  student  in  1798,  "that 
Corporal  Trim  has  drowned  his  grief  with  liquor  so  often 
this  quarter  that  Maxcy  has  had  him  at  the  tribunal  bar, 
and  last  night  admonished  him  and  fined  him  6  shillings." 
Another  extract  from  the  same  letter  illustrates  the  under- 
graduate attitude  toward  dishonesty  in  academic  work, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  students  in  general : 

Anxioiis  for  ad"\'ancement  our  class  appear  like  a  drove  of  deacons. 
All  are  attentive  to  their  books,  all  are  anxious  to  gain  favour.  If  one 
of  the  authority  walk  in  the  odoriferous  Grubstreet,  the  seniours  all 
prepare  to  meet  them  that  the}^  may  shew  respect  by  bowing  with  pro- 
found adoration.  No  art  remains  untrj^ed  to  obtain  favour — enough 
— Webb's  exhibition  piece  is  proved  to  be  stoUen  fi-om  St.  Pierres 
Studies  of  Nature  and  Car\''s  Poem  on  chance  consisting  of  150  lines 
is  found  in  Blackmore  on  Creation  90  lines  verbatim,  Thomson  is  so 
proud  that  he  did  not  steal  his  that  by  the  request  of  the  Freshmen  and 
Sophomores  it  is  put  to  the  press  and  will  be  out  tomorrow,  Mr.  Carter 
offers  them  at  2  cents  each.  I  hope  therefore  there  will  not  be  so  much 
grass  pulled  up  this  summer  for — fodder.  ...  It  was  diverting  the 
other  day  to  hear  Carv  and  Webb  dispute.  They  tsvited  each  other  of 
appearing  in  boiTOwed  feathers  at  exhibition  &c  .  .  .  and  came  nigh 
to  fighting. 

The  government  seems  to  have  viewed  the  offense  lightly, 
too,  for  there  is  no  record  of  the  offenders'  being  punished, 
and  both  got  their  degrees  with  their  class,  one  receiving 
the  valedictory  honor. 

The  following  extracts  from  letters  written  in  the  spring 
C    150  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  1798  show  how  seriously  the  undergraduates  took  the 
assignment  of  Commencement  parts,  and  how  disrespect- 
ful they  could  be  to  college  officials.  Incidentally  the  letters 
prove  that  the  class  no  longer  w  as  allowed  to  choose  the  vale- 
dictorian. 

After  prayei-s  they  all  looked  with  anxious  expectation.  If  you  have 
ever  seen  the  sable  cat  from  under  the  barn  floor  glare  with  her  flam- 
ing eyeballs,  imagine  if  you  can  endure  the  diought,  27  of  them  in 
one  row  with  eyes  if  possible  more  terrible  than  usual  looking  you  full 
in  the  face,  and  you  will  have  a  good  representation  of  our  class  and 
the  deplorable  situation  of  little  Joc^.  He  at  length  summoned  a  suf- 
ficiency of  mind  to  proclaim  the  following  arrangements.  .  .  .  Maxwell 
is  high,  talked  with  Maxcy  and  at  length  told  him  it  \vas  a  damned 
partial  distribution. 

The  irreverent  spirit  of  youth !  To  the  undergraduate  the 
President  of  the  college,  the  eloquent  Jonathan  Maxcy,  was 
no  more  but  "little  Jock"  !  Another  senior  writes  to  the 
same  correspondent: 

As  Mr.  Tallmadge  has  given  you  a  catalogue  of  the  parts  I  shall  not 
trouble  you  with  another  but  will  recite  some  of  the  transactions  since. 
The  next  night  after;  the  locks  that  are  on  the  doors  that  lead  to  the 
bell  were  filled  with  lead  so  that  we  had  a  long  morning  before  the 
ringing  of  the  bell,  the  entries  nighth'  resound  with  crashing  of  bottles 
and  the  hoarse  rumbling  of  wood  and  stones.  We  have  found  out 
that  Father  Messer  was  the  principal  man  in  giving  out  the  parts  and 
for  that  reason  he  is  treated  with  contempt  by  the  students.  Mr.  ]VIaxc\' 
has  been  unwell  the  last  week  so  that  he  did  not  attend  prayers  and 
Messer  oflSiciated  and  he  has  both  been  hissed  and  clapt. 

If  a  professor  in  chapel  was  treated  thus,  what  might  a 
young  tutor  expect?  A  partial  answer  is  found  in  a  letter 
of  1799,  in  which  both  the  college  building  and  the  tutor 
receive  expressive  nicknames: 

The  Old  Brick  resoimds  veiy  frequently  with  the  breaking  of  glass 
bottles  against  Tutor  T's  door,  If  he  can  be  called  a  Tutor.  We  have 

C    151    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

given  him  the  epithet  of  Weazle.  He  is  frequently  peaking  through 
the  knot  holes  &  cracks  to  watch  his  prey.  The  cat  that  crafty  animal 
gives  him  a  douse  in  the  chops  not  infrequently.  She  has  not  yet  been 
able  to  be  in  flill  possession  of  him.  But  if  Mr.  Weazle  is  not  more 
careflil  his  destruction  is  ceitam. 

Student  rowdyism  did  not  confine  itself  to  the  college  walls. 
The  minutes  of  the  Corporation  for  April  16,  1798,  record 
that  a  committee  from  several  churches  reported,  "That  a 
number  of  the  Students  are  not  only  remiss  in  a  punctual  at- 
tendance on  Public  Worship,  .  .  .  but  that  they  frequently 
behave  during  Divine  Service,  with  great  indecency."  On 
April  6,  1801,  the  Corporation  appointed  a  committee  to  re- 
quest at  least  one  of  the  tutors  to  "  take  the  seat  that  is  as- 
signed them  in  the  Gallery  of  the  Benevolent  Congregational 
meeting  house  every  Sunday,"  and  aid  in  "  keeping  order 
in  the  time  of  public  Worship."  On  September  6,  1804,  the 
Corporation  voted, "That  the  Treasurer  be  directed  to  pay 
a  bill  brought  against  the  Benevolent  Congregational  Soci- 
ety by  Grinnell  and  Taylor  for  repairing  damages  done  by 
the  Students  of  the  College  in  said  Society's  meeting-House, 
for  eight  Dollars,  nineteen  cents  ;  and  that  the  President  col- 
lect as  much  of  the  money  as  he  can  from  the  Students  who 
attend  that  Meeting." 

The  college  commons  continued  to  be  a  source  of  com- 
plaint and  disorder.  The  unfriendly  attitude  of  the  students 
toward  the  steward  is  reflected  in  a  vote  of  the  Corporation, 
in  1797,  that  students  living  in  college  "  be  hable  and  charge- 
able for  all  damages  done  to  the  Stewards  furniture  or  prop- 
erty within  the  College  Walls."  The  rise  in  the  price  of 
board  frequently  caused  discontent.  Itwas  at  $1.75  per  week 
in  the  autumn  of  1795,  and  rose  to  $1.92  the  next  spring. 
It  fell  and  rose  several  times  after  that,  the  students  demand- 
ing a  reduction,  and  the  steward  maintaining  that  he  could 

[   152   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

not  furnish  board  for  less  without  loss.  In  1798  the  chronic 
irritation  became  acute.  The  students  rebelled  and  forsook 
commons  in  a  bod)  ,  despite  threats  of  expulsion.  The  Presi- 
dent finally  concluded  a  "Treaty  of  Amity  &  Intercourse," 
whereby  the  students  agreed  to  return  to  the  board  of  Alma 
Mater,  and  the  President  promised  to  do  his  best  to  improve 
condidons.  A  worse  situation  arose  two  years  later,  as  we 
learn  from  a  letter  written  March  21,  1800  : 

We  have  had  shocking  times  such  as  the  Old  Brick  never  experienced 
before.  .  .  .  No  study!  No  prayers!  Nothing  but  riot  and  confusion! 
No  regard  paid  to  Superiors.  Indeed,  Sir,  the  spirit  of  ^75  was  dis- 
played in  its  brightest  colors.  .  . .  The  Steward's  inattention  to  his  dut\' 
and  the  long  enmity  that  has  existed  between  him  and  the  students 
became  intolerable.  ...  At  length  13  of  March,  the  memorable  13 
of  March — we  inconsiderately  carried  headlong  by  passion  fi-amed 
an  instrument  which  contained  all  the  names  of  those  who  boarded 
in  Commons  With  This  Declaration.  We  Solemnl}^  Swear  that  we 
will  not  attend  to  any  duties  of  the  said  College  till  the  Steward  is 
removed  from  his  Office !!!!...  They  were  in  the  Chapel  when  he 
[the  President]  came  to  beseech  the  Lord!  They  began  to  retire.  He 
found  it  in  vain  to  command.  He  requested  them  to  stop.  He  addressed 
us  in  as  mild  language  as  he  could  possibly  considering  the  causes  of 
provocation.  He  told  us  we  were  trampling  upon  all  law.  He  pledged 
his  fidelit^  ,  that  our  grie\ances  should  be  removed,  as  far  as  it  was  in 
his  power  to  remo\e  them,  if  we  would  return  to  dut}'. 

The  students  stood  out  stoutly;  one  was  expelled,  and  five 
w  ere  rusticated.  The  senior  class  thereupon  decided  to  leave 
college  unless  these  were  restored,  but  one  of  the  trustees  in- 
duced the  seceding  rebels  to  remain  until  the  next  meeting  of 
the  Corporation.  Some modusvivcudi  w^as  evidendy  reached, 
for  all  the  students  disciplined  got  their  degrees,  except  one 
wdio  died,  and  the  A\Titer  of  the  letter  became  a  tutor  im- 
mediately after  graduadon,  the  next  autumn. 

Perhaps  all  these  ebullitions  were  due  to  the  powerful 
C    153   3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

individualities  of  the  students.  At  any  rate,  the  record  of 
their  later  achievements  shows  that  they  must  have  been 
all  the  while  preparing  themselves  with  some  earnestness  for 
the  work  of  life.  Of  the  227  graduates  from  1792  to  1802 
the  great  majority  entered  professional  or  public  life,  as  fol- 
lows :  Lawyers,  66.  Clergymen,  56  :  Congregationalist,  34  ; 
Baptist,  11;  Episcopal,  1;  Unitarian,  1;  of  unknown  de- 
nomination, 9.  Teachers,  32.  State  legislators,  31.  Physi- 
cians, 23.  Judges,  17:  United  States  judge,  1;  state  su- 
preme court  judges,  4  ;  judges  of  lower  courts,  12.  United 
States  representatives,  11.  College  professors,  4.  Editors,  3. 
College  presidents,  2.  Authors,  2.  United  States  senators,  2. 
Army  officers,  2.  Naval  officers,  2.  General  state  officers,  2. 
Lieutenant-Governors,  2.  Governor,  1.  United  States  min- 
ister, 1.  United  States  consul,  1.  Mayor,  1.  Librarian,  1. 
Sixteen  served  on  college  governing  boards,  11  for  Brown 
University  and  5  for  other  institutions.  Twenty-two  were 
merchants  or  business  men.  A  few  of  these  alumni  deserve 
separate  mention.  Paul  Allen,  of  the  class  of  1793,  became 
an  author  of  some  note,  publishing  Origifiai  Poems^  a  His- 
tory of  the  Expedition  uncle?'  Lewis  and  Clark ^  a  History  oj* 
the  American  Revolution^  etc.  The  fame  of  Tristam  Burges 
as  Congressman  and  orator  has  already  been  mentioned. 
Jeremiah  Chaplin,  1799,  became  the  first  president  of  Wa- 
terville  (now  Colby)  College.  In  the  last  class  that  graduated 
under  Maxcy  was  a  j^outh  who  received  at  Commencement 
only  the  honor  of  an  intermediate  oration,  but  who  later  de- 
veloped into  one  of  the  profoundest  thinkers  of  his  generation 
— Henry  Wheaton,  minister  to  Prussia,  and  an  authority 
of  world-wide  fame  in  international  law.  If  Rhode  Island 
College  during  the  decade  of  President  Maxcy 's  administra- 
tion had  done  nothing  else  but  give  this  intellect  a  collegiate 
training,  its  existence  would  be  amply  justified. 

C    154  ] 


CHAPTER  V 
PRESIDENT  MESSEirS  ADMINISTRATION 

RHODE   ISLAND   COLLEGE  BECOMES   BROWN   UNIVERSITY :    THE   MEDICAL 
school:  HOPE  COLLEGE:  DISORDERS  IN  LATER  YEARS:  THE  PRESIDENT'S 

thp:ological  views  and  his  resignation 

ON  the  same  day  that  President  Maxcy's  resignation 
was  received,  the  Corporation  elected  Asa  Messer 
president  pro  tempore^  and  two  years  later  made  him  presi- 
dent. President  Messer  was  born  in  Methuen,  Massachu- 
setts, in  1769,  the  son  of  a  farmer.  His  preparation  for 
college  was  acquired  under  the  Rev.  Hezekiah  Smith,  of 
Haverhill,  and  in  an  academy  at  Windham,  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  he  entered  Rhode  Island  College  as  a  sophomore, 
and  graduated  in  1790.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
First  Baptist  Church  in  Providence,  in  1792,  and  was  or- 
dained in  1801,  but  never  had  the  care  of  a  church.  At  the 
time  of  his  election  to  the  presidency  he  had  already  ser\ed 
the  college  eleven  years  —  as  tutor  from  1791  to  1796,  as 
professor  of  the  learned  languages  from  1796  to  1799,  and 
as  professor  of  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  since 
1799,  also  acting  as  librarian  from  1792  to  1799. 

The  conspicuous  facts  of  the  new  administration  are  that 
near  its  beginning  Rhode  Island  College  became  Brown 
University,  and  near  its  end  the  second  college  building  was 
erected:  the  institution  had  at  last  found  its  patron,  and 
was  by  his  help  led  on  to  larger  things.  On  September  8, 
1803,  the  Corporation  passed  the  following  vote  :  "That  the 
donation  of  $5000  Dollars,  if  made  to  this  College  within 
one  Year  from  the  late  Commencement,  shall  entide  the 
donor  to  name  the  College. ' '  One  year  later,  on  September  6, 
the  day  after  Commencement,  the  following  letter  was  read 
in  the  Corporation  meeting  : 

C  ir,5  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Providence  Sept.  6:  1804 
Gentlemen — 

It  is  not  unknown  to  you  that  I  have  long  had  an  attachment  to  this 
Institution  as  the  place  where  my  deceased  Brother  Moses  and  my- 
self received  our  Education — This  attachment  derives  additional 
strength  from  the  recollection  that  my  late  Hond.  Father  was  among 
the  earliest  &  most  zealous  patrons  of  the  College :  &  is  confirmed 
by  iny  regard  to  the  Cause  of  Literature  in  general — Under  these 
impressions  I  hereby  make  a  Donation  of  Five  Thousand  Dollars 
to  Rhode  Island  College  to  remain  to  perpetuity  as  a  fiind  for  the 
establishment  of  a  Professorship  of  Oratory  &  Belles  Letters — The 
Money  will  be  paid  next  Commencement,  and  is  to  be  vested  in  such 
flinds  as  the  Corporation  shall  direct  for  its  Augmentation  to  a  suffi- 
ciencv  in  your  judgment  to  produce  a  competent  annual  Salar}^  for 
the  within  mentioned  Professorship  — 

I  am  very  respectfully  Gentlemen  with  my  best  wishes  for  the  pros- 
perity of  the  College 

Your  obedt:  friend 
Honbl.  Corporation  Nicho  Brown 

of  Rhode  Island  College 

In  selecting  oratory  as  the  chair  to  be  endowed,  Mr.  Brown 
was  doubtless  influenced  by  the  wish  of  his  uncle,  John 
Brown,  expressed  the  previous  year  in  a  letter  to  the  Cor- 
poration written  only  a  few  days  before  his  death,  in  which 
he  said,  "And  as  the  most  beautiful  and  handsome  mode 
of  speaking  was  a  principal  Object,  to  my  certain  know- 
ledge, of  the  first  Friends  to  this  College,  I  do  wish  that 
the  Honorable  the  Corporation  may  find  means  during  their 
deliberations  of  this  week,  to  establish  a  Professorship  of 
English  Oratory."  The  fund  was  put  at  interest  for  several 
years  until  the  income  from  it  was  judged  sufficient  for  the 
purpose  specified  by  the  donor. 

In  fulfillment  of  their  previous  vote,  and  in  gratitude  to 
Mr.  Brown,  the  Corporation  at  the  same  meeting  voted, 
"That  this  College  be  called  and  known  in  all  future  time 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

by  the  Name  of  Brown  Uni\ersitv  in  Providence  in  the  State 
of  Rhode  Island,  and  Pro\idence  Plantations."  If  it  seem 
to  any  modern  reader  that  the  sum  given  was  too  small  for 
so  great  an  honor,  it  should  be  remembered  that  $5000 
was  worth  far  more  then  than  now,  that  the  day  of  very  large 
gifts  to  colleges  was  not  yet,  and  that  Mr.  Brown  continued 
his  benefactions  through  many  years,  until  their  total  \\"as 
in  the  neighborhood  of  $160,000.  The  new  name  had,  fur- 
thermore, a  peculiar  propriety.  Mr.  Brown  A\as  a  devout 
man,  although  he  never  joined  any  church :  he  believed 
in  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  the  Baptists,  and  constantly 
attended  their  places  of  worship  ;  but  "no  sectarian  attach- 
ments," says  his  friend,  Professor  Goddard, "  were  suffered 
to  fetter  the  exercise  of  his  truly  liberal  and  catholic  spirit." 
The  name  "Brown  University,"  therefore,  carries  in  it  a 
reminder  of  the  religious  and  denominational  origin  of  the 
college,  and  of  its  catholic  spirit  as  well.  Mr.  Brown  Mas 
also  a  Rhode  Islander  through  and  through.  He  came  of 
an  old  Rhode  Island  family,  bone  and  sinew  of  the  colony 
and  state ;  and  he  himself,  for  fifty  years  a  great  merchant, 
whose  ships  w^ere  seen  in  all  the  waters  of  the  globe,  a  man 
of  strictest  probity,  an  educated  gentleman  and  a  philan- 
thropist of  wide  interests,  stands  out  with  modest  dignity 
as  a  foremost  representative  of  the  qualities  of  head  and 
heart  which  have  made  the  smallest  state  in  the  Union 
one  of  the  richest,  most  powerful,  and  most  honorable.  In 
becoming  "Brown  University,"  therefore,  the  institution 
did  not  cease  to  be  "Rhode  Island  College." 

The  Corporation  in  President  Messer's  administration 
was  for  the  most  part  less  active  than  in  the  stirring  earlier 
days.  The  annual  meetings  were  occupied  chiefly  with  mat- 
ters of  routine,  and  the  meetings  of ' '  minor  cjuorums ' '  almost 
wholly  ceased.  The  personnel  of  both  branches  had  largely 

c  157 : 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

changed :  of  those  who  took  office  under  President  Manning, 
only  eight  fellows  and  ten  trustees  held  over  into  President 
Messer's  administration,  and  many  of  these  soon  fell  out 
because  of  old  ageor  death.  The  second  chancellor,  theHon. 
Jabez  Bowen,  died  in  1815,  and  was  succeeded  by  Bishop 
Alexander  V.  Griswold,  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  There 
was  also  a  change  in  the  secretaryship.  Judge  Howell  giving 
way  in  1806  to  the  Hon.  Samuel  Eddy.  Nicholas  Brown 
continued  to  serve  as  treasurer  until  1825,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Moses  B.  Ives.  The  new  members  and  officers 
proved  themselves  worthy  successors  of  the  old  by  continu- 
ing the  administration  along  essentially  the  same  liberal 
lines.  At  the  annual  meeting  in  1826  the  Corporation,  for 
some  unknown  reason,  departed  from  the  uniform  practice 
of  previous  years  in  the  mode  of  conducting  business.  The 
two  branches  met  in  separate  rooms  of  University  Hall.  The 
trustees  sent  one  of  their  number  to  inform  the  fellows  that 
they  were  duly  organized  and  had  elected  a  clerk.  Several 
votes  were  then  passed  by  both  branches,  each  branch  vot- 
ing separately :  the  votes  when  passed  by  the  trustees  were 
signed  by  their  clerk ;  when  passed  by  the  fellows  they  were 
signed  by  the  secretary  of  the  Corporation.  This  dual  meet- 
ing occurred  on  September  7,  and  seems  to  have  been  an 
experiment,  for  on  the  day  before  both  branches  had  met 
in  joint  session  as  usual.  The  experiment  evidently  proved 
unsatisfactory,  and  was  never  repeated. 

For  several  years  after  Messer's  accession  to  the  presi- 
dency there  was  no  great  change  in  the  affiiirs  of  the  col- 
lege. The  number  of  students  slowly  increased ;  the  aver- 
age number  of  graduates  during  the  first  nine  years  was 
twenty-five,  while  under  Maxcy  it  had  been  twenty-one. 
The  Faculty  was  no  larger :  it  consisted  of  the  President ; 
the  professor  of  jurisprudence,  David  Howell,  who  gave  no 

[    158   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

lectures,  although  several  times  requested  by  the  Corporation 
todoso ;  the  professor  of  the  learned  languages,  Cal\  in  Park, 
who  served  as  such  from  1804  to  1811  ;  two  tutors  ;  and  the 
steward,  who  after  1803  was  also  called  register. 

In  1811  came  an  innovation.  A  Medical  School  was  es- 
tablished, by  the  appointment  of  three  professors  :  Solomon 
Drowne,  professor  of  materia  medica  and  botany  ;  William 
Ingalls,  professor  of  anatomy  and  surgery ;  and  William 
C.  Bowen,  professor  of  chemistry.  There  had  been  no  con- 
siderable increase  in  the  available  funds  or  in  the  amount 
received  from  tuition,  and  the  yearly  income  barely  sufficed 
to  pay  the  salaries  of  the  former  members  of  the  Faculty. 
How,  then,  it  will  be  asked,  was  this  enlargement  possible? 
Could  a  medical  school  in  those  days  be  founded  on  noth- 
ing? Apparently  this  one  was  founded  on  nothing  but  good- 
will and  student  fees.  There  is  no  record  that  the  Corpo- 
ration even  considered  salaries  for  the  medical  professors 
before  1815,  and  in  1816  Professor  Drowne  received  but 
$200;  in  1823  he  was  allowed  $100  and  fees;  in  1825, 
$250.  The  truth  is  that  these  medical  professors  were  lec- 
turers only,  and  their  duties  at  the  college  did  not  interfere 
seriously  with  their  practice,  while  the  distinction  of  hold- 
ing professorships  was  doubtless  of  some  pecuniary  value 
to  them  as  physicians. 

The  standard  of  medical  education  in  this  country  was 
then  low,  or  a  medical  school  so  scantily  equipped  A\"ould 
not  have  been  tolerated  in  a  reputable  institution  of  learn- 
ing. At  the  time  of  its  founding,  in  1811,  there  Mere  only 
two  medical  schools  in  New  England  —  one  at  Harvard, 
founded  in  1782,  and  one  at  Dartmouth,  founded  in  1798. 
Many  practitioners  had  no  medical  degree,  but  were  merely 
licensed,  after  an  apprenticeship  of  three  or  four  years  to 
some  physician  of  established  reputation.  Yet  even  by  con- 

C    159  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

temporary  standards  the  Brown  University  Medical  School 
was  open  to  criticism  ;  and  its  inadequacy  was  the  first  point 
of  attack  in  a  friendly  but  se\ere ' '  Letter  to  the  Corporation  ' ' 
from  an  "Alumnus  Brunensis"  in  1815,  two  years  after 
Professor  Bowen  had  resigned  the  chair  of  chemistry.  At 
this  time  only  two  medical  students  had  as  yet  completed 
the  course  and  taken  their  degrees ;  and  the  critic  finds  good 
reason  why  other  schools  are  preferred :  ' '  Ours  is  incom- 
plete. The  departments  of  Chemistry,  and  of  the  Theory 
and  Practice  of  Medicine,  remain  to  be  filled.  .  .  .  Two  able 
Professors  fill  the  other  departments.  But  will  medical  stu- 
dents extensively  resort  to  a  school '  but  half  made  up'  ?  .  .  . 
Not  a  moment  ought  to  be  lost  in  completing  the  estab- 
lishment; especially  since  not  a  single  serious  obstacle 
appears  to  oppose  its  completion."  He  proposes  that  the 
professors  receive  salaries,  instead  of  being  humiliated  by 
precarious  dependence  upon  fees,  and  that  their  lectures 
be  free  to  juniors  and  seniors  in  the  college.  He  realizes  that 
lectures  by  non-resident  professors  ought  to  be  supple- 
mented by  a  study  of  textbooks  and  a  drilling  by  tutors  ;  but 
laboratory  work  and  clinics  are  not  so  much  as  hinted  at. 
Whether  or  not  the  Corporation  had  needed  this  prod- 
ding, they  did,  afew  weeks  after  the ' '  Letter ' '  came  out,  ap- 
point Dr.  Levi  Wheaton  as  professor  of  the  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  "physick,"  and  Dr.  John  M.  Eddy  as  "adjunct" 
professor  of  anatomy  and  surgery.  The  chair  of  chemistry, 
for  which  a  committee  of  the  Corporation  had  been  seeking 
a  professor  since  1813,  was  filled  in  1817  by  the  selec- 
tion of  John  D' Wolf,  of  Bristol.  The  Medical  School,  thus 
strengthened,  condnued  through  President  Messer's  ad- 
ministration and  into  the  second  year  of  President  Way- 
land's.  Its  professors  were  able  men  of  excellent  training. 
Professor  Drowne  was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Penn- 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

sylvania  Medical  School,  ser\'ed  as  a  surgeon  in  the  Conti- 
nental army,  and  studied  under  eminent  physicians  in  Europe 
for  four  years;  he  was  also  a  famous  botanist,  having  a  re- 
markable botanical  garden  at  his  home  on  Mount  Hygeia, 
in  Foster.  Professor  Ingalls,  who  took  the  degrees  of  A.B., 
M.B.,  and  M.D.  at  Harvard,  was  a  prominent  Boston 
physician,  especially  skillful  in  surgery,  and  one  of  the  earli- 
est opponents  of  the  practice  of  bleeding.  Professor  Bowen , 
who  came  of  a  family  of  eminent  Providence  physicians, 
M'as  educated  in  Rhode  Island  College  and  Union  College, 
studied  and  practiced  in  Providence,  and  then  went  to  Eu- 
rope, where  he  took  a  medical  degree  in  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  studied  in  Paris,  and  was  a  private  pupil  of 
the  great  London  surgeon,  Astley  Cooper;  Dr.  Usher  Par- 
sons wrote  of  him, ' '  In  the  death  of  Dr.  William  C.  Bowen, 
Rhode  Island  lost  its  brightest  ornament  of  the  medical 
profession."  His  successor,  Professor  D'Wolf,  studied  in 
Brown  University,  but  did  not  take  a  degree ;  his  know- 
ledge of  chemistry  was  acquired  chiefly  under  Dr.  Robert 
Hare,  of  Philadelphia,  a  celebrated  chemist,  later  professor 
of  chemistry  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Dr.  D'Wolf 
was  a  brilHant  lecturer. ' '  He  always  had  a  full  attendance, ' ' 
wrote  a  member  of  the  class  of  1826.  "He  opened  to  the 
eyes  of  the  student,  in  his  peculiarly  attractive  manner,  the 
wonders  of  a  new  and  brilliant  science.  .  .  .  Sometimes 
in  drawing  practical  deductions  from  the  science  he  \\as 
teaching,  he  would  suddenly  electrify  the  class  by  illustrat- 
ing its  truths  in  glowing  and  eloquent  words,  so  impressive 
and  graphic  as  not  to  be  easily  forgotten."  He  also  ga\'e 
popular  courses  of  lectures,  which  drew  large  audiences, 
in  Providence,  New  Bedford,  and  Savannah.  After  leaving 
Brown  he  held  the  chair  of  chemistry  in  medical  schools 
in  Vermont  and  St.  Louis.  Professor  Wheaton,  of  the  class 

C    I6l    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  1782,  studied  medicine  vvidi  a  Rhode  Island  physician 
during  the  Revolution,  and  acquired  valuable  experience 
in  a  military  hospital  and  as  surgeon  on  a  privateer  and  a 
prison-ship ;  hecontributed  many  articles  to  the  Boston  Med- 
ical and  SurgicalJoumal  2ind  other  professional  periodicals. 
Professor  Eddy,  who  died  in  the  second  year  after  his  ap- 
pointment, was  a  man  of  high  promise,  and  one  of  the  origi- 
nal fellows  of  the  Rhode  Island  Medical  Society.  Professor 
Parsons,  Eddy's  successor,  after  studying  medicine  in  Bos- 
ton under  Dr.  John  Warren,  a  professor  in  the  Harvard 
Medical  School,  served  with  distinction  as  surgeon  in  the 
War  of  1812  ;  he  received  the  degree  of  M.D.  at  Harvard 
in  1818,  walked  the  hospitals  in  Paris  and  London,  and 
in  1821  became  professor  of  anatomy  and  surgery  at  Dart- 
mouth, whence  he  removed  to  Brown  University  the  next 
year  as  adjunct  professor  of  those  subjects,  becoming  full 
professor  in  1823 .  "  If  we  may  accept  the  testimony  of  two 
surviving  pupils  of  the  school,"  modestly  writes  his  son, 
Professor  C.  W.  Parsons,  "  the  opening  of  courses  by  Dr. 
Parsons  gave  new  life  to  the  institution.  He  made  arrange- 
ments, through  channels  over  which  a  veil  of  secrecy  had 
to  be  thrown,  for  a  supply  of  anatomical  material."  Dr. 
Parsons  became  eminent  as  a  surgeon  and  consulting  physi- 
cian, and  his  prize  medical  essays  made  his  name  widely 
known;  in  1853  he  was  chosen  first  vice-president  of  the 
American  Medical  Association. 

This  was  surely  a  brilliant  Faculty  for  a  medical  school 
without  endowment ;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  school 
had  a  considerable  measure  of  success.  The  following 
extracts  from  a  circular  recently  given  to  the  university 
library  show  the  methods  and  ideals  of  the  professors  ;  the 
circular  is  undated,  but  belongs  to  the  years  1822-25: 

[    162    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

THE  Medical  Lectures  in  Hiown  University  ^\  ill  commence  in  the 
Anatomical  Building,  in  Providence,  on  the  first  Thui-sda)'  in  Febru- 
ary, and  be  continued  daily  for  nearly  three  months. 

Theory  and  Practice  of  Phjsic  and  Obstetrics,  by 

Dr.  Wheaton,  510  00 

Chemistry  and  Pharmac}-,  by  Professor  D'Wolf,  10  00 

Anatomy,  Physiology  and  Surgery,  by  Dr.  Parsons,       15  00 

$35  00 

.  .  .  The  Anatomical  Museum  has  recently  received  ver}'  important 
additions  from  various  parts  of  Europe,  and  now  contains  every^  prep- 
aration, plate  and  instrument  necessary  to  a  teacher  of  anatomy.  Stu- 
dents wiU  be  accommodated  with  separate  sets  of  bones,  and  allowed 
ample  opportunities  in  Practical  Anatomy.  .  .  . 

The  lectures  on  Surgery  will  comprise  about  one  fourth  part  of 
the  course,  and  nearly  every  instrument  now  in  use  \\'ill  be  exhibited 
and  described.  When  practicable,  students  will  be  allowed  to  attend 
surgical  operations,  and  cases  of  sickness.  .  .  . 

The  conditions  on  which  Medical  Degrees  are  conferred  are  the 
following : 

1st.  That  the  candidate  sustain  a  good  moral  character. 

2.  That  he  furnish  the  Professors  with  satisfactory  evidence  of  his 
possessing  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  Latin  language  and  Natural 
Philosophy. 

3.  That  he  shall  have  attended  two  full  courses  of  lectures  on  Anat- 
omy and  Surgery,  Chemistiy  and  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Physic. 

4.  That  he  shall  ha\e  studied  three  years  (including  the  time  of 
lectures)  with  phAsicians  of  approved  reputation. 

5.  That  he  shall  have  submitted  to  a  private  examination  held  by 
the  Professors  during  the  last  week  of  the  lectures,  or  on  the  Monday 
and  Tuesday  preceding  Commencement — and  received  their  recom- 
mendation. 

6.  That  he  shall  huve  written  a  dissertation  on  some  medical  sub- 
ject and  read  and  defended  it  in  the  College  Chapel  liefore  the  Presi- 
dent, or  such  College  officer  as  he  may  appoint,  and  the  Medical  Pro- 
fessors and  such  other  professional  or  literary  gentlemen  as  choose  to 
attend. 

A  Brown  University  Medical  Association,  consisting  of  pro- 

C    163   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

fessors,  students  attending  the  medical  lectures,  and  resi- 
dent physicians,  was  formed  in  1811  and  lived  until  1825. 
It  held  weekly  meetings  during  the  lecture  season,  and  had 
a  library  from  which  books  were  lent. 

The  graduates  of  the  Brown  University  Medical  School 
numbered  eighty-seven,  not  counting  the  recipients  of  hon- 
orary medical  degrees,  of  whom  there  were  thirty-one  dur- 
ing the  years  1804-28.  Most  of  the  graduates  became  use- 
ful members  of  their  profession,  and  several  attained  to 
eminence.  Jerome  V.  C.  Smith  was  professor  in  the  Berk- 
shire Medical  Institution,  port  physician  of  Boston  for 
twenty- three  years,  editor  of  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgi- 
cal Journal  for  twenty-eight  years,  and  the  author  of  many 
medical  works.  Alden  March  was  a  founder  of  the  Albany 
Medical  College  and  professor  of  surgery  in  it  for  thirty 
years,  president  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  and 
originator  of  various  surgical  appliances.  Lewis  L.  Miller 
was  an  eminent  physician  in  Providence  for  forty  years, 
and  president  of  the  Rhode  Island  Medical  Society.  George 
Capron  practiced  in  Rhode  Island  for  half  a  century;  he 
was  physician  in  the  United  States  Marine  Hospital  at 
Providence,  president  of  the  Rhode  Island  Medical  Soci- 
ety, and  author  of  numerous  medical  publications.  Johnson 
Gardner  was  a  Rhode  Island  physician  for  forty  years, 
and  examining  surgeon  for  the  state  recruits  during  the 
Civil  War.  Francis  L.  Wheaton  was  appointed  surgeon- 
general  of  Rhode  Island  during  the  Mexican  War,  and  was 
a  surgeon  in  the  United  States  military  service  throughout 
the  Civil  War.  The  most  famous  of  all  was  Elisha  Bartlett, 
of  the  last  class  under  President  Messer ;  he  held  professor- 
ships in  several  medical  schools,  including  Dartmouth,  the 
University  of  New  York,  and  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons  in  New  York  City;  he  was  also  prominent  as  an 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

author,  producing,  says  Dr.  Parsons,  "two  works  of  great 
importance  and  permanent  value,"  one  on  the  "Fevers  of 
the  United  States,"  which  established  the  distinction  be- 
tween typhus  and  typhoid,  and  the  other  an  "Essay  on  the 
Philosophy  of  Medical  Science. ' ' 

The  Medical  School  was  not  the  only  department  of  the 
University  for  which  the  vigorous  "Alumnus  Brunensis  " 
of  1815  had  pointed  suggestions  to  make.  Turning  to  the 
college  as  a  whole,  he  urges  that  a  non-resident  professor 
of  rhetoric  and  oratory  be  appointed  at  once ;  advises  that 
' '  a  concise  course  of  Lectures  on  Law  ' '  be  given,  and  hopes 
that  ' '  it  would  be  the  commencement  of  a  Law  School^ 
which  is  much  needed ' ' ;  thinks  that  ' '  probably  no  imme- 
diate alteration  is  expedient"  in  the  department  of  mathe- 
matics and  natural  philosophy,  of  which  President  Messer 
had  charge,  but  "in  almost  every  college,  it  has  a  professor 
specially  devoted  to  its  interests."  He  would  also  have  "  sum- 
mary and  concise ' '  courses  of  lectures  on  mineralogy  and 
zoology  given  by  the  professors  of  chemistry  and  botany. 
The  professor  of  moral  philosophy  and  metaphysics,  Cal- 
vin Park,  seems  to  have  confined  the  course  to  recitations 
from  a  textbook  ;  for  "Alumnus  "  says  he  has  "only  to  re- 
mark, that  a  course  of  lectures  on  this  subject,  should  the 
worthy  professor  of  it  be  inclined  to  engage,  ^^•ould  be  a  \'al- 
uable  addition  to  the  circle  of  discipline. ' '  He  has  just  views 
of  the  function  and  needs  of  a  college  library  :  "  A  Library, 
not  to  be  retrograde,  must  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of 
science  and  of  other  similar  institutions.  The  college  Library 
ought  therefore  to  have  an  annual  appropriation  for  its 
regular  increase."  He  has  other  ambitions  for  the  college, 
but  does  not  expect  to  see  them  realized  at  present — a  cabi- 
net of  minerals,  a  botanic  garden,  and  an  additional  college 
building.  The  most  modern  suggestion  is  that  about  "Mis- 

[    16'5   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

cellaneous  Lectures,"  which  incidentally  shows  that  the 
relations  between  officers  and  students  were  then  less  inti- 
mate and  friendly  than  now : 

Persons  generally  enter  a  college  young  and  comparatively  inexperi- 
enced. In  the  choice  of  books,  in  the  direction  of  their  studies,  in  their 
attention  to  diet  and  exercise,  in  the  selection  of  companions,  in  their 
judgment  of  mankind,  and  in  the  formation  of  their  social  and  moral 
habits,  how  much  assistance  might  be  given  by  one  whose  experience 
has  instructed  him  on  these  points,  and  whose  affectionate  solicitude 
for  the  welfare  of  his  pupils  would  call  forth  all  his  abilities  and  all  his 
experience  in  their  behalf.  .  .  .  Such  a  course  of  lectures  would  espe- 
cially have  one  good  effect.  It  would  tend  to  narrow  the  distance  be- 
tween the  instructor  and  instructed.  It  is  an  unfortunate  fact,  that  these 
two  stations  are  viewed  by  many  as  two  hostile  camps.  An  entrance 
into  college  is  thought  almost  a  declaration  of  war :  letters  of  marque 
and  reprisal  certainly  scarcely  come  up  to  their  ideas  of  the  state  of 
their  relations.  Perpetual  hostilities  must  be  kept  up. 

All  these  thoughtful  and  progressive  recommendations 
doubtless  had  a  stimulating  eifect.  Plans  had  already  been 
made  to  meet  some  of  the  needs,  however,  and  others  were 
met  as  they  became  more  apparent.  When  the  two  new  med- 
ical professors  were  appointed,  Tristam  Burges  was  also 
selected  for  the  chair  of  oratory  and  belles-lettres.  In  1819 
Jasper  Adams  was  made  professor  of  mathematics  and  nat- 
ural philosophy.  The  botanic  garden  had  been  under  con- 
sideration by  a  committee  since  1813,  and  a  plot  near  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  campus  was  later  devoted  to  it.  Even 
the  cabinet  of  minerals  was  assigned  a  room  in  the  new 
college  building  in  1823. 

The  entrance  requirements  under  President  Messer  re- 
mained the  same  as  under  Presidents  Manning  and  Maxcy. 
The  curriculum  prescribed  by  the  Laws  of  1803  differed 
from  that  of  1783  chiefly  in  the  omission  of  Lucian,  Caesar, 
and  Homer ;  the  Greek  prescribed  was  the  New  Testament, 

C    166  J 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Xenophon's  Cympaed'm^  and  Longinus.  By  1823,  however, 
the  course  of  study  was  consideral^ly  enriched,  the  laws  then 
enacted  specifying  the  follow  ing  works,  some  of  which  had 
already  had  a  place  in  the  curriculum  for  several  years : 

The  Freshman  Class,  after  revising  a  part  of  Virgil,  Cicero  and  the 
Greek  Testament,  shall  stiuh'  Ciraeca  Minora,  Xenophon's  C)Topoe- 
dia,  Sallust,  Cicero  de  Amicitia  and  de  Senectute,  Horace,  Roman  An- 
tiquities, Sheridan's  Lectures,  Arithmetic  and  English  Cirammar. 

The  Sophomore  Class  shall  study  Morae's  Uni\'ei-sal  Geograph\', 
Blair's  Lectures,  Cicero  de  Oratore,  Homer,  Algebra,  Euclid,  Kaim's 
Criticism  and  Hedge's  Logic. 

The  Junior  Class  shall  study  Paley's  Moral  Philosophy  and  Nat- 
ural Theologv,  Enfield's  Natural  Philosophy,  Campbell's  Philosoj^hy 
of  Rhetoric,  Steward's  Philosophy  of  Mind,  Chemistn-,  Trigonome- 
ti-^',  Sm-ve)'ing  and  Navigation. 

The  Senior  Class  shall  study  Butler's  Analogy,  Burlamaqui  on  die 
Law  of  Nature,  The  Federalist,  Paley's  Evidences,  and  Vattel.  They 
shall  also  re\^ise  their  preceding  studies. 

Noteworthy  points  about  this  curriculum  are  the  addition 
or  restoration  of  several  classical  works,  the  inclusion  of  a 
study  of  government  and  international  law,  and  the  strong 
emphasis  still  laid  on  elocution  and  rhetoric,  the  laws  pre- 
scribing weekly  declamations  by  all  the  classes,  ^\•eekly 
exercises  in  English  composition  by  the  three  older  classes, 
and  weekl}^  practice  in  "making  Latin"  by  the  freshmen. 
As  to  methods  of  instruction,  we  have  this  vivid  state- 
ment by  Barnas  Sears,  of  the  class  of  1825:  "Our  pro- 
fessors \^  ere  more  portly  men,  going  on  to  sixty.  Sitting 
cross-legged  in  an  arm-chair,  against  which  a  silver-headed 
cane  leaned,  they  w^ould  insist  on  your  giving  them  the 
exact  words  of  Blair  (false  English  and  all),  or  of  Kames, 
and  of  Stewart  and  Hedge.  Our  president,  who  heard  us  in 
Enfield's  philosophy,  was  more  communicative  and  even 
facetious.  ...  In  languages,  beyond  making  Latin,  after 

c  Iff-": 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Clarke's  Introduction,  there  was  nothing,  if  we  except  scan- 
ning, but  translating  and  parsing;  no  true  philology,  noth- 
ing of  the  necessary  meaning  of  words  from  derivation  and 
usage,  or  of  the  force  of  grammatical  forms  and  construc- 
tion. Every  thing  depended  on  translation,  generally  guessed 
out,  often  stolen."  The  courses  referred  to  were  those  con- 
ducted by  the  resident  teachers,  in  which  the  students  were 
treated  like  school-boys,  with  set  tasks  and  set  times  for 
doing  them  each  day.  But  the  instruction  by  the  non-resi- 
dent professors  in  the  Medical  School  was  given  by  lectures, 
to  which  the  academic  students  were  admitted.  In  1 82 1  the 
professor  of  oratory  and  belles-lettres, Tristam  Burges,  also 
a  non-resident,  began  a  course  of  lectures ;  and  a  letter  from 
him  to  the  Corporation  on  November  19,  1826,  referring 
to  his  work  of  that  year  and  protesting  against  a  proposal 
to  deprive  him  of  the  professorship,  gives  interesting  facts 
about  his  methods  and  ideals : 

I  commenced  the  instruction,  by  a  course  of  Lectures  on  Rhetorick. 
I  still  continued  to  hear  their  declamations;  &  to  declaim  before  them, 
as  I  had  done;  &  to  hear  their  weekly  compositions  read  in  the  Chapel, 
&  to  coiTect  them.  ...  I  am  .  .  .  solicitous,  that  the  instruction,  from 
the  Rhetorical  Professor,  in  the  University,  should  be  confined  to  a 
certain  part  only  of  the  year;  &  not  be  extended  over  the  whole  of 
every  collegiate  terni.  It  might  embrace  a  course  of  Lectures;  &  the 
hearing  of  declamations,  of  such  original  compositions,  as  might,  under 
the  instruction  of  the  Professer,  be,  during  that  time,  prepared  by  the 
pupils,  for  that  purpose.  The  weekly  compositions,  &  declamations, 
may  be  continued.  These  may,  as  was  the  case  before  1821,  be  heard, 
&  examined,  by  the  other  officers  of  instruction.  This  labour  will  then 
be  divided.  At  present,  it  is  all  thrown  on  my  shoulders;  &  I  have, 
not  unfrequently,  gone  from  the  Chapel,  with  thirty  sheets  of  paper 
in  my  pockets,  to  read  correct,  &  criticise,  in  the  course  of  the  next 
week.  The  young  men  are, some  times,  considerate ;  &  do  not  a// write; 
&  the  two  present  Classes  relieve  me,  in  a  more  creditable  manner; 
that  is  by  v/riting  vew  con-ectlv-  ...  I  must  be  permitted  to  sav,  that 

['  168   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

no  practical  man,  either  in  the  desk,  or  at  the  bar,  could  have  done 
what  I  have  done,  unless  he,  as  I  lia\'e,  give  up  his  jjractice.  You  may 
obtain  a  mere,  theorist,  who  will  undertiike  to  do  it;  but  a  theoreti- 
cal orator  will  succeed  no  better,  if  as  well,  in  teaching  eloquence,  as  a 
theoretical  anatomist  will,  in  teaching  sin-ger)'. 

How  heavy  was  the  labor  of  correcting  compositions, 
which  before  1821  fell  wholly  on  instructors  teaching  other 
subjects,  including  the  president  himself,  is  shown  by  this 
extract  from  a  letter  of  1815  by  President  Messer,  who 
seems  to  have  been  imposed  upon  by  some  waggish  stu- 
dent: "I  should  also  be  glad  to  know  the  Reporter  of  the 
story  of  blank  Composition.  The  year  before  last  I  received 
on  each  week  of  term-time,  49  pieces  of  composition  ;  and 
hence,  during  the  year,  more  than  1400  pieces.  Since  an 
Officer  of  the  Institution,  I  have  received  nearly  twenty 
thousand  Pieces.  Now,  though  it  is  possible  that  I  may 
have  neglected  50,  or  100,  or  500  of  these  Pieces,  I  should 
still  be  glad  to  know  the  reporter  of  this  owe*  of  them,  though, 
as  the  story  says,  a  blank!'''' 

By  the  Laws  of  1803  there  was  a  vacation  of  four  weeks 
beginning  with  Commencement  day,  which  came  always 
on  the  first  Wednesday  in  September;  a  second  vacation, 
beginning  on  the  last  Wednesday  in  December  and  con- 
tinuing six  weeks ;  and  a  third  of  three  weeks,  beginning 
on  the  first  Wednesday  in  May.  By  a  vote  of  the  Corpo- 
ration in  1807,  the  winter  vacation  was  lengthened  to  eight 
weeks,  while  the  spring  one  was  shortened  to  two  weeks 
and  began  on  the  third  Wednesday  of  May.  The  exami- 
nations came  at  times  determined  by  the  vacations.  The  sen- 
iors were  examined  in  the  languages  on  the  Wednesday 
preceding  the  spring  vacation,  and  in  the  liberal  arts  and 
sciences  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  July ;  the  rest  of  the 
time  before  Commencement  they  were  supposed  to  be  busy 

C    169   3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

preparin,^  their  Commencement  parts.  The  three  under 
classes  were  examined  on  the  Monday  preceding  the  spring 
vacation,  and  on  the  Monday  (after  1823  the  Friday)  pre- 
ceding Commencement. 

The  library  grew  considerably  during  President  Messer's 
administration.  In  1805  Nicholas  Brown  gave  $500  for  the 
purchase  of  books,  and  the  Corporation  voted  as  much  more. 
In  1812  $400  was  appropriated  for  new  books,  and  three 
years  later  $500  ;  in  1820  $100  annually  was  voted  "par- 
ticularly to  subscribe  for  .  .  .  the  best  scientific  periodical 
works  now  publishing."  In  1824  a  decided  improvement 
was  made  in  the  care  of  the  library.  The  librarians  hereto- 
fore had  been  college  tutors  or  preceptors  in  the  grammar 
school,  usually  serving  only  a  year  or  two ;  but  now  Hora- 
tio G.  Bowen,  just  appointed  professor  of  natural  history, 
became  librarian,  and  he  held  the  office  for  sixteen  years. 
He  at  once  set  to  raising  a  fund,  and  in  a  few  months  had 
secured  subscriptions  of  $840.  The  library  was  also  en- 
riched by  various  bequests  of  books.  The  Rev.  Isaac  Backus 
left  a  part  of  his  library  to  the  college,  including  a  copy 
of  Roger  Williams's  Bloody  Tencnt  yet  More  Bloody  with 
this  inscription  in  Williams's  hand:  "For  his  honoured  & 
beloved  Mr  John  Clarke  an  eminent  Witnes  of  Christ  Jesus 
agst  ye  bloodie  Doctrine  of  Persecution  &c."  In  1818  the 
valuable  library  of  the  Rev.  William  Richards  of  England 
was  received.  Dr.  Richards  was  a  broad-minded  Baptist 
and  an  ardent  advocate  of  religious  freedom,  whose  corre- 
spondence with  President  Manning  had  predisposed  him 
in  favor  of  the  young  college,  and  as  his  end  drew  near  he 
made  inquiry  whether  the  institution  still  maintained  its 
liberal  principles.  President  Messer  replied  vigorously  in  the 
affirmative,  and  the  library  was  accordingly  bequeathed  to 
the  university.  It  consisted  of  thirteen  hundred  volumes,  and 

C  170  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

contained,  said  Librarian  Jewett,  "a  considerable  number 
of  Welsh  books,  a  large  collection  of  valuable  works,  illus- 
trating the  history  and  antiquities  of  England  and  Wales ; 
besides  two  or  three  hundred  bound  volumes  of  pamphlets, 
some  of  them  very  ancient,  rare  and  curious."  In  the  last 
years  of  President  Messer's  administration  some  two  hun- 
dred costly  volumes  on  anatomy,  biology,  mathematics,  and 
theology  were  given  to  the  library  by  John  Carter  Brown, 
Robert  H.  Ives,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Carlile,  and  Messrs. 
Brown  and  Ives.  The  second  printed  catalogue  appeared  in 
1826,  and  showed  that  the  library  then  consisted  of  about 
five  thousand  volumes.  In  1825,  after  the  appointment  of  the 
new  librarian,  the  Corporation  made  a  few  changes  in  the 
rules  for  the  use  of  the  library  :  it  was  to  be  opened  on  three 
days  a  week  (instead  of  t\\o)  in  term-time,  and  on  Satur- 
day in  vacation  ;  and  members  of  the  Corporation  and  Fac- 
ulty might  take  out  ten  volumes  at  a  time,  and  renew  them. 
The  number  of  students  in  the  college  continued  to  grow. 
The  catalogue  of  1821-22  shows  an  attendance  of  152, 
not  counting  medical  students ;  of  the  152,  furthermore,  49 
were  freshmen.  An  additional  college  building  was  now 
much  needed,  and  on  September  6,  1821,  the  Corporation 
appointed  a  committee,  including  the  President,  Nicholas 
Brown,  and  Thomas  P.  Ives,  "to  consider  on  the  propri- 
ety of  erecting  another  College  edifice."  At  an  adjourned 
meeting  a  few  weeks  later,  the  committee  were  authorized 
"to  select  and  if  necessary  to  purchase  a  suitable  site  for 
another  College  edifice,"  "to  erect  the  edifice  on  such  plan 
and  of  such  dimensions  as  they  may  think  proper, ' '  and  ' '  to 
solicit  donations  and  draw  on  the  Treasury  for  the  above 
purpose."  The  result  showed  the  wisdom  of  leaving  so 
much  latitude  to  a  committee  of  which  Mr.  Brown  was 
a  member.  On  January  13,  1823,  the  committee  reported 

C    >71    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

that  a  lot  had  been  purchased  of  Nathan  Waterman,  and 
that  on  it  had  been  erected,  "by  Nicholas  Brown  Esq.  the 
distinguished  patron  of  the  University, ' '  "  an  elegant  brick 
building,  .  .  .  length  120  feet  Width  40  feet  four  stories 
high  and  containing  48  rooms."  At  the  same  meeting  the 
following  letter  from  Mr.  Brown  was  read: 

To  the  Corporation  of  Brown  Universitj\ 

It  affords  me  great  pleasure,  at  this  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Cor- 
poration to  state,  that  the  College  Edifice,  erected  last  season,  and  lo- 
cated on  the  land  purchased  by  the  Corporation  of  Mr.  Nathan  Wa- 
tei-man,  is  completed,  being  warmly  attached  to  the  Institution  where 
I  received  my  education,  among  whose  founders  and  benefactors  was 
my  honoured  Father  deceased,  and  belie\dng  that  the  dissemination 
of  letters  and  knowledge  is  the  great  means  of  social  happiness — 
I  have  caused  this  Edifice  to  be  erected  wholly  at  my  expense,  and 
now  present  it  to  the  Corporation  of  Brown  Universit^^to  be  held  with 
the  other  Corporate  property  according  to  their  Charter.  As  it  may  be 
proper  to  give  a  name  to  this  new  Edifice,  I  take  leave  to  suggest  to 
the  Corporation  that  of  "Hope  College." 

I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  express  a  hope,  that  Heaven  will 
bless  and  make  it  useful  in  the  promotion  of  Virtue,  Science,  and 
Literature,  to  those  of  the  present  and  future  generations,  who  may 
resort  to  this  University  for  education. — With  respectflil  and  affec- 
tionate regards  to  the  individual  members  of  the  Corporation, 

I  am  their  friend. 
Brown  University  Nicholas  Brown. 

January  13.  1823. 

The  Corporation  at  once  passed  a  resolution,  "That  the 
members  of  this  Corporation,  entertain  a  very  high  sense 
of  the  liberality  of  this  Patron  of  Science,  in  the  gift  of  this 
new  building,  in  addition  to  his  former  large  donations  to 
this  University."  A  committee  appointed  to  devise  a  means 
of  manifesting  the  Corporation's  gratitude  to  Mr.  Brown  re- 
ported in  favor  of  having  his  portrait  painted  and  ' '  placed 
in  an  apartment  of  one  of  the  Colleges,"  and  also  recom- 

C  172  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

mended  "That  a  monumental  marble  be  placed  in  the  front 
of  Hope  College  with  a  suitable  inscription."  Mr.  Brown's 
modesty  defeated  the  second  plan,  and  delayed  the  execution 
of  the  first  for  some  years. 

The  new  building  took  its  name  from  Mrs.  Hope  Ives, 
wife  of  Thomas  P.  Ives,  the  only  surviving  sister  of  Mr. 
Brown.  It  is  reputed  to  be  one  of  the  purest  specimens  of 
colonial  architecture  in  New  England,  less  massixe  than 
University  Hall,  but  light  and  graceful  in  its  lines.  It  was 
designed  as  a  dormitory  ;  for  many  years,  however,  its  rooms 
were  not  all  needed  for  lodgings,  and  some  served  other 
purposes,  the  Philermenian  and  United  Brothers  Societies 
having  quarters  on  the  top  floor  of  the  north  division.  The 
building  cost  about  $20,000;  the  lot,  $5189. 

At  the  same  meeting  at  which  Hope  College  was  received 
and  named,  the  Corporation  voted  "That  the  old  College 
Edifice  be  named  'University  Hall'."  Since  the  completion 
of  its  inside  finishing  in  1788,  a  bell  had  been  placed  in  the 
old  building,  and  necessary  repairs  had  been  made  from 
time  to  time.  The  early  laws  imply  that  the  college  had  a 
bell ;  but  either  it  had  been  broken  or  was  deemed  too  small, 
for  in  1790  a  committee  was  appointed  "to  procure  a  Bell 
for  the  College,  as  soon  as  may  be."  The  next  year  they 
were  instructed  to  get  a  bell  of  ' '  the  weight  heretofore  or- 
dered (about  300  lbs.)  as  soon  as  may  be."  Just  when  this 
essential  to  college  life  arrived  and  was  hung  in  its  place, 
does  not  appear  ;  but  on  September  8,  1791,  the  committee 
was  authorized  to  "complete  the  Copola,"  no  doubt  to  fit 
it  for  its  guest;  and  on  December  6,  1792,  the  Corporation 
voted  ' '  that  the  President  employ  one  of  the  Students  to 
ring  the  College  Bell,  &  that  such  Student  be  allowed  his 
Tuition  &Room  rent  for  that  Service. ' '  In  September,  1 795, 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  report  what  repairs  to  the 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

roof  were  needed,  and  to  ' '  cause  necessary  repairs  to  be  im- 
mediately made  on  the  roof  over  the  Library."  A  year  later 
the  treasurer  was  authorized  to  hire  a  sum  not  exceeding 
$1500  for  the  repair  of  the  building,  which  w^as  leaking 
badly,  and  he  was  instructed  to  "sell  on  the  best  terms 
he  can,  the  slate  now  on  the  roof  of  the  College";  he  and 
another  were  made  a  committee  to  repair  the  edifice  and  the 
president's  house  "without  delay." 

A  painting  formerly  in  the  family  of  President  Messer 
gives  a  view  of  the  college  grounds  as  they  were  about  the 
year  1800.^  The  campus  is  little  more  than  a  field,  roughly 
graded,  with  very  few  shade  trees  ;  it  is  inclosed  by  a  fence 
on  the  west,  and  by  walls  elsewhere  —  doubtless  the  same 
that  President  Manning  made ;  and  College  Street  is  still 
only  a  lane.  A  well  that  is  represented  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  University  Hall  was  as  old  as  the  building,  the 
accounts  of  Nicholas  Brown  and  Company  showing  that 
it  was  dug  in  1770.  In  1803  it  was  planned  to  put  the  well 
to  a  new  use,  the  treasurer  being  instructed  to  apply  to  the 
town  ' '  to  take  measures  for  establishing  a  pump  in  the  Col- 
lege Well  for  the  use  of  the  College  and  the  neighbouring 
buildings  in  case  of  fire." 

The  first  addition  to  the  grounds  was  made  in  1815, 
when  the  Corporation  bought  for  $600  a  lot  about  50  feet 
wide  and  extending  north  from  George  Street  about  130 
feet  to  the  college  lands ;  it  is  the  land  lying  just  behind 
Rhode  Island  Hall.  In  the  same  year,  on  October  24,  occurs 
the  first  reference  in  the  Corporation  records  to  trees  on  the 
campus:  "  Voted,  That  the  Committee  appointed  to  keep 
the  College  Edifice  in  repair  cause  such  of  the  trees  in  the 
College  Yard  to  be  cut  down  as  they  may  think  expedient." 

'  A  reproduction  of  the  painting  is  given  in  Guild's  Brmvn  Uni-uersity  and 
Manning,  page  157,  and  in  Memories  of  Brmvn,  page  15. 

C    174   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

The  lot  for  Hope  College  was  a  large  addition  to  the  grounds, 
being  123  feet  wide  and  extending  east  from  Prospect  Street 
400  feet;  and  on  Septembers,  1822,  while  the  new  build- 
ing was  nearing  completion,  a  committee  was  appointed 
"to  cause  the  College  yard,  to  be  enclosed  with  a  suitable 
fence  and  planted  widi  trees  at  their  discretion."  Another 
important  change  made  in  this  year  was  the  continuation  of 
Prospect  Street  from  Meeting  Street  (where  it  had  stopped 
in  1785)  to  College  Street ;  and  on  September  5  it  was  voted, 
"That  this  Corporation  confirm  the  doings  of  the  Town 
Council  of  the  Town  of  Providence  in  continuing  prospect 
Street  through  the  College  lands,  westward  of  the  Presi- 
dents House,  and  that  they  release  all  claim  to  damages 
for  the  lands  belonging  to  them  through  which  said  Street 
passes."  The  appearance  of  the  college  neighborhood  a  few 
years  earlier  is  clearly  described  by  Samuel  B.  Shaw,  of  the 
class  of  18 19  :  "  No  other  street  but  Angell  then  led  directly 
to  the  river.  What  is  now  Waterman  street  was  chiefly  a 
pasture  for  horses. \  .  .  The  only  houses  on  Prospect  street 
were  those  of  Colonel  Thomas  Halsey  and  his  son-in-la\\', 
Captain  Creighton.  From  George  street  to  Power,  through 
Brown,  the  brick  house  then  occupied  by  Mr.  Moses  Eddy 
was  the  only  one  then  erected  on  the  latter,  and  on  College 
street  as  far  as  Benefit  the  only  house  was  that  occupied 
by  a  Mr.  Jenckes." 

The  finances  of  the  college  during  President  Messer's 
administration  were  still  straitened.  Mr.  Brown's  fund  for 
a  professorship  of  oratory  lay  dormant  for  many  years,  and 
the  new  building  yielded  income  only  in  the  form  of  room 
rents,  which  were  very  low.  Tuition,  also,  remained  at  the 
old  figure  of  $16  a  year  until  1822,  when  it  was  raised  to 

^  Waterman  Street  was  opened  from  Benefit  Street  to  Prospect  Street  in 
1833,  from  Prospect  Street  to  Hojje  Street  in  1841. 

C    175   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

$20.  Furthermore,  the  payments  for  tuition  and  room  rent 
often  came  in  slowly.  In  1821  there  was  due  the  college 
from  undergraduates  and  graduates  $2783.84,  of  which 
about  $600  was  considered  bad  debts ;  and  $3126  was  due 
the  steward  for  board,  of  which  nearly  $400,  it  was  thought, 
could  not  be  collected.  Hence  there  was  often  a  lack  of  ready 
money.  The  following  letter  to  Nicholas  Brown  as  treasurer 
pictures  the  state  of  things  : 

o-  June  11th. — 

Sir, 

Our  quarter  day  has  returned,  &  I  have  not  money  enough  to  meet 

the  demands  of  the  officers.  Notwithstanding  I  have  actually  advanced 

of  my  own  Money  from  four  to  fiA'e  Hundred  dollars,  there  is  still  a 

balance  due  of  nearly  three  Hundred  dollars.  I  suppose,  however,  that 

with  $200,  I  might  give  a  general  satisfaction.  If  you  will  direct  the 

course  to  be  taken  in  the  case,  you  will  oblige  your  fi-iend  &  Servant. 

,..  ,    ,     13  ^  Asa  Messer. 

rsicholas  Brown  rL,sqr. 

Another  undated  letter  of  like  import  ends  with  the  pointed 
query,  "Will  you  send  it  up,  or  shall  I  call  and  take  it 
myself?" 

The  productive  funds  were  still  small,  and  they  increased 
slowly.  In  1809  they  were  $14,086,  exclusive  of  the  fund  to 
endow  the  chair  of  oratory.  In  1824  they  were  only$15,578, 
yielding  but  $936  a  year.  There  seems  to  have  been  no 
serious  attempt  to  secure  a  larger  endowment;  in  1811  a 
lottery  was  again  proposed,  but  nothing  came  of  it.  The 
reliance  upon  tuition  and  room  rents  for  increase  of  income 
was  to  some  extent  justified  :  the  attendance  kept  on  grow- 
ing for  several  years,  reaching  162  in  1823-24,  besides  38 
medical  students  ;^  the  next  year  the  graduating  class  num- 
bered 60,  of  whom  48  took  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts 
—  the  largest  class  until  1870.  These  numbers,  with  tui- 

^  At  Harvard  College  the  number  of  students  in  1825-26  was  only  234. 

C    '76-   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tion  at  $20,  brought  in  a  respectable  income  when  the  bills 
were  all  paid.  Hence  the  salaries  of  the  officers  rose  grad- 
ually under  President  Messer.  In  1823-24  the  president's 
salary  remained  at  $1000,  with  the  usual  perquisites,  but 
the  two  resident  professors,  Park  and  Adams,  now  received 
$840  each  ;  four  of  the  non-resident  professors  received 
little  or  nothing,  but  Tristam  Surges,  professor  of  oratory 
and  belles-lettres,  was  paid  $600,  and  Professor  D' Wolf,  of 
the  chair  of  chemistry,  the  same;  the  tutors  received  about 
$500  each,  which  was  the  salary  of  the  masters  of  the  Provi- 
dence public  schools. 

The  public  days  of  the  institution  continued  to  be  as  pop- 
ular as  ever.  The  processions  at  Commencement  were  still 
enlivened  by  the  escorting  bodies  of  militia,  although  after 
1803,  by  a  vote  of  the  Corporation,  the  senior  class  had  to 
get  the  consent  of  the  Corporation  before  inviting  these  glit- 
tering warriors  to  attend.  The  following  newspaper  notices 
and  vote  of  the  Corporation  gi\e  glimpses  of  Commence- 
ment at  various  times : 

Voted,  That  at  the  next  Commencement  the  doors  of  the  Meeting 
House  be  open  from  9,  oclock  in  the  morning  for  the  admission  of 
Ladies  but  that  the  Pe.ws  to  the  eastward  of  the  middle  aisle  be  re- 
ser\'ed  for  the  Gentlemen  composing  the  Procession.  (Corporation 
Records,  September  5,  1816.) 

We  have  on  no  similar  occasion  welcomed  so  great  a  concourse  of 
strangers.  The  procession  was  escorted  to  the  first  Baptist  Meeting- 
House  by  the  new  company  of  Light  Infantr}\  ...  In  the  evening, 
the  receipts  at  the  Theatre  exceeded  five  hundred  dollai-s.  (^Providence 
Patriot  and  Columbian  Phenix^  September  5,  1818.) 

At  no  time  within  our  recollection  has  there  been  a  greater  number  of 
strangers  in  town  attracted  by  the  exercises  of  commencement.  Yes- 
terday the  spacious  house  in  which  the  performances  took  place  was 
crowded  even  with  more  than  its  usual  excess.  Among  the  auditors 
there  were  several  strangers  of  distinction  from  abroad.  —  In  point  of 

C    177   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

elocution  we  have  never  seen  a  class  graduating  on  the  stage,  who  gave 
better  specimens  of  correct  taste,  and  energy  in  delner}-.  .  .  .  The  in- 
teresting little  }'Outh  who  pronounced  the  Greek  oration,  but  15  years 
of  age,  attracted  much  interest;  there  was  a  musick  in  his  delivery 
which  gave  a  charm  to  that  beautiful  language  even  to  the  ear  totally 
incapable  of  receiving  a  particle  of  its  meaning.  (^Manufacturers  and 
Fanners  Journal^  September  8,  1825.) 

In  spite  of  contemporary  praise,  there  was  a  change  for  the 
worse,  according  to  modern  ideas,  in  the  subjects  of  the 
Commencement  speeches.  Few  were  taken  from  current 
life,  and  nearly  all  were  too  broad  for  brief  treatment.  The 
War  of  1812  inspired  none  of  the  orators,  debaters,  or  es- 
sayists ;  only  a  poem  in  1816,  "The  American  dead,"  may 
have  dealt  with  those  who  fell  in  the  war.  Most  of  the  dis- 
putes were  upon  questions  which  admit  of  no  definite  solu- 
tion, such  as  "Which  is  the  most  injurious.  Hypocrisy  or 
Pride?  "  or  "  Is  SensibiHty  the  source  of  excellence?"  Some 
of  the  debaters,  however,  took  more  concrete  questions :  "Are 
Factories  beneficial  to  the  United  States?"  "Has  the  reign 
of  Napoleon  been  advantageous  to  Europe?"  "Are  Capi- 
tal Punishments  useful?  "  In  the  orations  there  was  for  sev- 
eral years  a  curious  fondness  for  dealing  with  "abuses" 
—  of  religion,  of  merit,  of  genius,  of  liberty,  of  reason.  Some 
topics  were  almost  incredibly  general,  as  "Man,"  "Juris- 
prudence, "  "  The  Fine  Arts, "  "  Thinking. ' '  A  new  tend- 
ency, especially  noticeable  after  the  establishment  of  the 
Medical  School,  was  the  choice  of  topics  relating  to  modern 
science:  "Influence  of  Science  on  Liberty,"  was  a  subject 
in  1815,  "  Science  of  geology  "  in  1817,  "  Are  the  Induce- 
ments for  cultivating  Science  in  the  United  States  equal  to 
those  in  Great  Britain?"  in  1819,  "Do  Meteorites  origi- 
nate from  sources  connected  with  the  earth  ?  "  in  1 82 1 .  Much 
of  the  variety  in  forms  of  discourse  and  in  languages  was 

C    '78   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

preserved.  The  orations  in  Hebrew  and  French  had  been 
discontinued  under  President  Maxcy,  and  the  semi-dra- 
matic and  often  humorous  dialogues  disappeared  after  1805; 
but  orations,  dissertations,  essa3s,  disputes,  conferences,  and 
poems  still  diversified  the  exercises,  and  orations  or  essays 
in  Latin  and  Greek  were  j^ronounced  or  read  nearly  e\ery 
year. 

If  the  Commencement  programs  show  some  decline, 
those  of  another  occasion  improved.  The  ' '  Exhibitions ' '  by 
seniors,  and  by  juniors  and  sophomores  together,  M^hich 
began  in  President  Maxcy 's  time,  grew  more  and  more 
popular,  and  called  out  a  livelier  display  of  talent  than  the 
more  staid  Commencement  exercises.  The  sophomore- 
junior  exhibitions  occurred  in  April  and  August :  the  sopho- 
mores recited  selected  pieces  ;  the  juniors  delivered  original 
orations  and  poems,  engaged  in  disputes  and  dialogues,  and 
even  acted  scenes  from  plays.  After  the  spring  of  1820  the 
sophomores  no  longer  took  part.  The  senior  exhibition  came 
in  December.  The  place  was  at  first  the  college  chapel,  but 
after  1806  often  the  town-house.  The  titles  of  some  of  the 
pieces  presented  show  how  much  freedom  was  alloAved  the 
students  on  these  occasions.  At  the  sophomore-junior  exhibi- 
tion in  the  spring  of  1 803  four  poems  were  read ,  and  a  dispute 
was  held  on  the  question, ' '  Ought  those,  who  are  old  Bach- 
elors from  Choice,  to  support  those,  who  are  old  Maids  from 
Necessity?"  At  the  August  performance  four  juniors  had 
a  ' '  conference  "  on  "  The  Comparative  Disadvantages  of 

*  Although  the  Latin  tlieses  had  disai)pcai-cd  from  the  i)rogninis  after  the 
Revolution,  the  seniors  were  required  even  in  the  Laws  of  1803  to  "collect, 
prepare,  and  publish  "  them,  delivering  two  each  week  (on  penalty  of  a  fine 
of  eight  cents  for  every  omission)  to  students  a]ipointed  to  receive  them.  How 
long  the  hunt  for  these  academic  flora  and  fauna  was  compulsory  is  not  cer- 
tain, but  they  were  printed  until  1817;  in  the  I>aws  of  1823  the  collection 
of  them  was  made  conditional  —  "if  the  President  shall  dir-ect." 

C    179   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

personal  Beauty,  Wit,  Coquetry  and  early  Marriage  "  ;  and 
there  was  "A  Colloquial  Discussion,  in  Latin,  on  the  Policy 
of  carrying  on  a  War  with  Tripoli. "  In  the  senior  exhibition 
of  1804  "An  Oration  on  religious  Persecution"  came  be- 
tween a  conference  on  ' '  The  comparative  Demerit  of  Quack 
Legislation,  Quack  Divines,  Quack  Physicians  and  Quack 
Lawyers"  and  a  dialogue,  "The  young  Man  of  Sixty." 
It  is  evident  that  the  lighter  parts  of  the  programs  sup- 
plied to  college  life  some  of  the  elements  which  now  appear 
in  the  events  of  Class  Day  and  Junior  Week.  This  impres- 
sion is  confirmed  by  the  following  reminiscences  of  "Old 
Citizen,"  published  in  The  Providence  Journal  on  July  1, 
1851: 

Many  a  time  have  I  attended  "exhibitions"  of  the  undergraduates,  in 
the  old  town  house.  On  these  occasions,  a  temporaiy  stage  was  erected 
in  front  of  the  pulpit,  and  some  neighbor  was  called  upon  for  the  loan 
of  a  carpet,  to  cover  the  naked  boards.  In  the  South  East  comer  under 
the  galler}',  was  the  dressing  room,  screened  from  vulgar  eyes,  by  a  fair 
chintz  curtain.  From  behind  this  came  forth  the  youthful  orators, 
who  have  since  edified  churches  and  charmed  senates  and  courts,  trem- 
bling like  aspen  leaves  and  blushing  like  young  maidens.  .  .  .  At  the 
close,  a  select  number  from  each  [class]  "  acted  a  play"  or  "spoke  a 
dialogue,"  dressed  in  character.  There  in  the  pulpit  sat  the  President 
and  the  Professors  and  the  Tutore.  .  .  .  Over  the  dressing  room,  in  the 
galler)^,  usually  sat  the  musicians,  as  many  in  number  as  the  exhibit- 
ors could  afford  to  hire,  who  would  occasionally  discourse  such  music 
as  is  now  seldom  heard.  I  have  seen  that  old  town  house  crowded  as 
full  of  ladies,  bright  eyed  ladies  too,  and  gentlemen  as  the  "  Old  Bap- 
tist" used  to  be  on  the  afternoon  of  Coinmencement  day;  not  a  va- 
cant seat  in  those  old  square  pews,  nor  a  place  to  stand  in  those  broad 
aisles. 

In  the  undergraduate  life  of  the  period  the  most  conspicu- 
ous new  feature  was  the  growth  of  societies.  The  Philerme- 
nian  Society,  founded  under  President  Maxcy,  continued  to 
thrive.  Its  library  gradually  increased,  until  in  1821  it  con- 

[    l8o   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tained  1594  volumes,  including  such  works  as  Tom  Jones^ 
Tristram  Shcmdy^  and  Byron's  poems  ;  the  books  were  kept 
in  the  college  library-room  until  1823,  when  they  were  re- 
moved to  the  society's  quarters  in  Hope  College.  The  fort- 
nightly debates  and  other  literary  exercises  aroused  great 
interest,  and  were  believed  to  afford  valuable  discipline. 
Membership  in  this  society  was  limited  to  forty-five;  and 
as  there  were  more  undergraduates  whose  thirst  for  public 
speech  was  not  slaked  by  the  required  exercises  at  chapel, 
exhibitions,  and  Commencement,  another  society,  the  United 
Brothers,  was  formed  in  1806.  These  two  great  rivals  di- 
vided the  student  body  between  them  for  many  years, 
surviving  into  the  days  of  President  Sears.  A  tincture  of 
political  controversy  sharpened  their  rivalry,  the  older  soci- 
ety inclining  to  the  aristocratic  Federals,  the  younger  to  the 
Republicans,  the  democrats  of  that  day.  Both  organizations 
had  anniversary  meetings  on  the  day  before  Commence- 
ment; after  1810  these  were  held  in  the  Congregational 
church  on  Benevolent  Street,  and  the  orators  and  poets 
were  more  or  less  distinguished  alumni  or  other  persons. 
The  societies  took  themselves  very  seriously,  as  indeed  they 
had  a  right  to  do  in  that  oratorical  age,  and  invited  eminent 
persons  to  come  and  speak  before  them  and  be  made  hon- 
orary members.  Among  the  Philermenian  documents  pre- 
served in  the  college  library  is  a  bundle  of  faded  letters  con- 
taining polite  declinations  from  Henry  Clay  and  other  busy 
dignitaries,  but  acceptances,  also,  from  many  lesser  lights. 
The  students  continuing  to  increase  in  number,  they  out- 
ran the  constitutional  limits  of  both  societies,  and  a  third, 
the  Franklin  Society,  was  established  in  1824 ;  it  never  had 
the  vitality  of  the  other  two,  however,  and  died  after  ten 
years.  A  Philophusion  Society,  for  research  in  science,  ex- 
isted from  1818  to  1827.  One  of  the  minor  suggestions  of 

C  i«i  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

"Alumnus,"  in  his  "Letter  to  the  Corporation"  in  1815, 
was  that  an  association  be  formed  to  aid  poor  students, 
particularly  by  lending  them  textbooks.  The  seed  fell  into 
fertile  soil,  for  a  few  weeks  later  was  held  the  first  meet- 
ing of  such  an  organization,  called  the  Philendean  Society. 
Well-known  names  appear  among  the  autographs  of  the 
early  members — Robert  H.  Ives,  John  Carter  Brown,  Sam- 
uel G.  Howe,  Edwards  A.  Park,  and  others.  The  dues 
were  only  a  dollar  a  year ;  but  a  goodly  number  of  textbooks 
were  gradually  collected,  and  many  poor  students  were  glad 
to  use  them  —  Barnas  Sears  for  one.  The  records  of  the 
society  show  that  it  lent  books  until  1848.  In  the  early  years 
it,  too,  had  its  anniversary  meeting  for  oratorical  delight, 
when  a  senior  delivered  a  "lecture."  The  religious  life  of 
the  students  also  took  organic  form  at  this  time  :  a  Praying 
Society  was  formed  in  1802,  which  had  prayer-meetings 
twice  a  week,  and  exchanged  letters  with  similar  societies 
in  other  colleges ;  in  1821  it  was  succeeded  by  a  Religious 
Society. 

The  college  rules  for  the  conduct  of  students  remained 
much  as  before.  "To  encourage  and  assist  the  students  in 
their  literary  pursuits,  to  promote  in  them  a  regular  con- 
duct and  diligent  use  of  time, ' '  ran  one  of  the  Laws  of  1 803 , 
"the  officers  shall,  as  often  as  they  judge  necessary,  visit 
their  chambers,  as  well  in  study  hours  as  at  other  times." 
Absence  from  rooms,  recitations,  and  chapel,  tardiness, 
neglect  to  "exhibit  composition"  or  attend  disputations, 
were  punished  by  fines  ranging  from  three  cents  to  $1.50, 
followed  in  obstinate  cases  by  admonition,  rustication,  or 
"degradation."  If  a  student  should  "presume"  to  exhibit 
anything  on  the  stage  which  had  not  been  approved,  he 
was  "liable  to  a  fine  not  less  than  fifty  cents,  and  to  be  pub- 
licly admonished  before  the  audience"  ;  and  he  incurred  the 

C    182    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

same  punishment  if  he  used  "any  profane  or  indecent  lan- 
guage on  the  stage."  For  declamations  in  chapel  no  piece 
likely  to  excite  laughter  was  to  be  chosen,  on  penalty  of  six- 
teen cents.  The  chapter  of  the  laws  entitled  "Of  Criminal 
Offences  "  invented  several  new  crimes  ;  and  in  addition  to 
the  fundamentals  of  right  living  the  undergraduates  were 
instructed  in  some  of  the  refinements  of  the  academic  life : 

No  student  shall  keep  an}' kind  of  fire-arms  or  gunpowder  in  his  room, 
nor  fire  gunpowder  in  or  near  the  College,  in  an)'  manner  whate^  er. 

If  any  scholar  shall  wilfully  insult  any  of  the  officers  of  government 
or  instruction,  if  he  shall  strike  them,  or  break  their  windows,  he  shall 
be  immediately  expelled. 

No  student  shall  play  on  anv  musical  instrument  in  the  hours  allotted 
for  study,  on  the  penalty  of  eight  cents  for  every  offence. 

All  students  are  strictly  forbidden  to  make  indecent,  unnecessary  noises 
in  the  College  at  any  time,  either  by  running  violenth',  hallooing,  or 
rolling  things  in  the  entries  or  down  the  stairs. 

Every  student  is  strictly  forbidden  to  throw  any  thing  against  the  Col- 
lege edifice,  to  attempt  throwing  any  thing  over  it,  or  to  throw  water 
or  any  thing  else  from  the  College  windows,  or  in  the  College  entries. 

All  students  are  forbidden  to  enter  the  chapel,  except  at  the  times  of 
devotional  and  collegiate  exercises,  or  without  pennission  to  enter  the 
Library,  Musaeum  or  Philosophical  Chamber. 

Rules  unfortunately  do  not  enforce  themselves  ;  and  in  spite 
of  this  formidable  array  of  prohibitions  and  penalties,  there 
were  many  infractions  of  discipline  under  President  Mes- 
ser,  especially  in  his  later  years.  His  letter-books  are  full  of 
notices  of  rustication,  which  was  then  carried  out  with  lit- 
eral accuracy,  quite  in  the  fine  old  English  style,  the  pur- 
pose being  to  send  the  offender  away  from  distracting  and  too 
stimulating  influences,  and  to  allow  him  to  regain  his  equi- 
poise of  soul  in  rural  seclusion  and  pursue  his  studies  aided 

C    183   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

by  some  scholarly  clergyman.  Some  of  the  disorder  was  in- 
nocent enough.  A  guileless  farmer,  unacquainted  with  the 
ways  of  the  learned  world,  found  his  ox-sled  and  load  of 
wood  transported  to  the  roof  of  University  Hall.  The  Presi- 
dent's horse  was  led  to  the  top  story  of  the  building  and 
left  there  over  night :  its  guide  on  this  perilous  journey  was 
Samuel  G.  Howe,  who  was  soon  after  doing  heroic  service 
in  the  Greek  war  of  independence  and  was  later  the  teacher 
of  Laura  Bridgman  ;  but  even  in  mature  life,  says  his  daugh- 
ter, ' '  there  was  no  keeping  the  twinkle  out  of  his  eye,  as  he 
told  how  funny  the  old  horse  looked,  stretching  his  meek 
head  out  of  the  fourth-story  window,  and  whinnying  mourn- 
fully to  his  amazed  master  passing  below." 

But  sometimes  there  was  vandalism,  rowdyism,  or  riot. 
Soon  after  the  completion  of  Hope  College,  a  committee 
of  the  Corporation  reported  that ' '  the  outside  doors  in  the 
New  College  have  been  injured  in  a  shameful  manner  &  the 
Committee  are  sorry  to  remark,  there  appears  a  disposition 
to  cut  waste  &  distroy  the  Buildings."  "Your  son,  since 
his  return,"  writes  Messer  in  1819,  "has  thrown  a  stone 
through  the  window  of  one  of  the  Tutors,  and  has  put  into 
his  bed  a  shovel  of  ashes  ;  though  the  Tutor  had  given  him 
no  Provocation  ;  nor  did  even  know  him."  In  the  same  year 
he  writes  to  a  clergyman  :  "Some  time  since  a  large  num- 
ber of  our  Students  combined  together  for  the  Purpose  of 
subverting  a  regular  recitation  ;  and  from  them  we  selected 
twelve  supposed  to  be  prominent,  and  fined  them  each  four 
dollars.  Your  Son  is  one  of  the  twelve."  The  lot  of  the  col- 
lege tutor  had  not  improved  when  Williams  Latham,  of 
the  class  of  1827,  was  an  undergraduate,  for  in  his  diary 
he  remarks  of  one  of  the  tutors,  "His  talents  and  good 
deportment  gained  for  him  a  respect  which  in  a  measure 
compensated  his  want  of  bodily  strength  —  having  a  white 

C    184  3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

swelling  on  his  ankle  which  unlit  him  for  resisting  the  vio- 
lence of  our  College  bullies." 

In  December,  1817,  there  occurred  a  disturbance  which 
aroused  the  citizens  as  \\  ell  as  the  college  officers.  The  de- 
tails are  best  given  in  a  letter  by  President  Messer  to  the 
father  of  one  of  the  students  implicated:  "The  building 
which  was  burnt,  and  \\hich  you  call  a  nitisanrc  stood  adja- 
cent to  the  stewards  barn,  and  between  it  and  his  hog-pen. 
From  thence  it  was  carried  into  the  middle  of  the  college- 
yard;  and  then,  having  been  filled  with  hay  &.  corn-stocks, 
it  was  consumed  by  fire.  The  blaze,  it  is  said,  rose  as  high 
as  the  college  edefice  ;  and,  if  the  wind  had  favored  it,  it  might 
have  endangered  ei[ther]  that,  or  the  adjacent  barns;  and 
it  is  here  thought  to  be  not  a  small  thing  to  alarm  in  the 
night,  and  by  the  cry  of  fire  10  or  12  thousand  People."  In 
a  postscript  to  a  statement  read  in  chapel  he  says,  "Being 
at  Midnight  the  burning  excited  in  the  Town  such  indig- 
nation, that  two  of  the  Persons  suspected,  were  arraigned 
before  the  civil  tribunal. "  The  college  expelled  one  student, 
rusticated  four  others,  and  fined  three. 

In  the  spring  of  1819  there  was  another  and  worse  out- 
break. The  President's  letter  to  the  parent  of  one  of  the  cul- 
prits describes  the  affair  thus:  "I  hasten  to  state.  That, 
some  weeks  since,  our  chapel  and  dining-hall  doors  were, 
during  the  darkness  of  night,  burst  in,  and  carried  oft';  that 
the  furniture  was  carried  from  the  latter,  and  some  of  the 
seats,  and  even  the  Pulpit,  from  the  former ;  that  the  gates 
and  bars  of  the  college  yard,  and  the  blinds  of  the  college- 
house  were  carried  off".  The  day  after  this  had  occurred,  a 
notification,  probably  stuck  up  the  dav  before,  was  found  in 
the  college-entry ;  and  the  features  of  it  may  be  collected  from 
the  consideration  that  it  was  a  notification  of  a  meeting  of 
'Hell  fire  rummaging  club  at  half  past  twelve  this  night.' 

C  i«5  3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

It  was  for  this  notification  that  your  son  was  sent  away;  and 
it  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  government  that  he 
wrote  it." 

These  disturbances,  however  objectionable,  had  in  them 
nothing  of  bitterness  or  dehberate  hostility.  But  in  1824 
there  broke  out  an  ugly  quarrel  in  the  academic  family, 
which  lasted  for  months  and  finally  led  to  the  President's 
resignation.  The  quarrel  seems  to  have  been  aggravated 
by  antagonism  to  Messer's  theological  opinions,  which  for 
several  years  had  been  deemed  heretical.  In  1818  the  Hon. 
Samuel  Eddy,  secretary  of  the  Corporation,  reputed  author 
of  an  heretical  pamphlet  on  the  divinity  of  Christ,  was  given 
"liberty  to  withdraw "  from  the  First  Baptist  Church,  and 
did  withdraw.  Suspicion  then  attached  to  the  views  of  his 
close  friend.  President  Messer,  who  for  some  time  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  making  prayers  in  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  which  since  1815,  at  least,  had  been  openly  Uni- 
tarian. In  1819  the  First  Baptist  Church  passed  a  vote  dis- 
avowing fellowship  with  those  who  "openly  and  avowedly 
deny  the  Deity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  and  he  supposed 
that  the  vote  referred  to  himself;  but  he  was  not  named  in 
it,  and  actually  remained  a  member  of  the  church  until  his 
death . 

President  Messer's  position  is  best  stated  in  a  postscript 
to  a  letter  of  December  10, 1818  :  "The  difference  between 
me  and  others  respecting  the  character  of  Christ  would  be 
setded  by  a  setdement  of  the  question,  not  whether  he  pos- 
sesses the  divinity,  for  I  hold  that  in  him  dwelt  all  the  ful- 
ness of  the  godhead,  or  divinity  bodily,  but  whether  he  pos- 
sesses it  by  his  Father,  or  by  himself?  whether  he  proceeded 
forth  and  came  from  God,  or,  whether,  not  like  God,  but 
God  himself,  he  exists  per  se?  Following  the  former,  I  have 
the  satisfaction  to  know  that  I  follow  John,  Paul,  Peter, 

C    186  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

2ind  Jesus;  and,  what  some  perhaps,  may  though  wickedly 
think  is  more,  that  great  leader  of  the  Baptists,  Dr.  John 
Gill."  In  brief,  he  held  that  Christ  was  not  God,  but  in  a 
preeminent  sense  the  Son  of  God,  a  position  very  like  that 
of  Channing  and  other  Unitarians  of  his  day,  if  not  iden- 
tical with  it.  "He  then  is  a  /&//,"  he  writes  in  a  letter  of 
March  20,  1819  ;  "  and,  as  God  has  given  him  ;  so  I  would 
give  him  a  name,  which  is  above  every  name. ' '  On  Decem- 
ber 23,  1820,  he  writes,  "Unless  you  should  suppose  me 
idiotic,  you  surely  will  not  now  inquire,  Mhether  I  believe 
that  that  So?i  of  the  living  God,  is  the  living  God  him- 
self, the  great  Father  of  all,  the  self-existent,  almighty,  inde- 
pendent, underived,  most  holy,  only  wise  God?" 

Such  opinions  naturally  alarmed  many,  who  became  un- 
willing that  the  holder  of  them  should  remain  at  the  head 
of  Brown  University,  particularly  at  a  time\\hen  Unitarian- 
ism  was  rapidly  spreading  in  New  England.  The  President, 
on  the  other  hand,  stood  up  stoutly  for  liberty  of  thought. 
The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  December  16,  1818, 
to  William  Hunter,  United  States  senator  and  a  trustee, 
presents  the  case  as  he  saw  it:  "Will  you,  on  that  occa- 
sion [the  next  Commencement] ,  again  favor  us  with  your 
company?  ...  A  storm  of  bigotry,  you  must  be  sensible, 
is  now  raging  around  us;  and,  unless  prevented  by  the 
energies  of  men  of  liberal  minds,  it  may  tear  up  bv  the  root 
the  best  tree  ever  planted  by  our  Fathers.  God  forbid  that 
a  Spanish  Inquisition  should  ever  stand  on  a  soil  sanctified 
by  the  bones  of  Roger  Williams."  On  November  17, 1819, 
he  writes  thus  to  the  Rev.  John  Evans,  of  England:  "A 
violent  contention  respecting  the  Trinity  has  been  raging 
among  us ;  and  it  has  not  yet  wholly  subsided.  . .  .  Notwith- 
stand  [ing]  the  charter  of  our  University  forbids  all  religious 
Tests,  some,  zealous  for  what  thev  call  the  word  of  God,  had 

C    i«7] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

determined  diat,  unless  willing  to  change  my  creed,  which 
yet  is  that  very,  unadulterated  word,  I  should  be  compelled 
to  leave  that  Institution,  I,  however,  though  daring  to  main- 
tain that  'Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  GOD,' 
still  remain  in  statu  quo. "  It  was  indeed  not  easy  to  dislodge 
him.  The  college  charter  merely  provides  that  the  president 
shall  be  a  Baptist ;  and  Messer  still  adhered  firmly  to  the  dis- 
tinctive tenets  of  the  denomination,  holding  that  a  personal 
profession  of  belief  should  precede  baptism  and  that  the 
scriptural  mode  of  baptism  was  immersion.  He  was  there- 
fore strongly  intrenched,  and  open  opposition  after  a  while 
died  down  ;  but  the  fire  still  smouldered,  and  the  President's 
receipt  in  1820  of  the  degree  of  S.T.D.  from  Harvard  Col- 
lege, now  controlled  by  the  Unitarians,  must  have  tended  to 
keep  the  embers  warm. 

What  connection,  it  will  be  asked,  had  this  theological 
quarrel  Math  the  undergraduate  disturbances  of  1824?  It 
may  be  that  it  really  had  none ;  but  President  Messer  thought 
otherwise.  The  disorders  themselves  differed  from  those  that 
had  preceded  in  being  deliberate,  organized,  and  protracted. 
Messer  gives  a  brief  account  of  them  in  a  letter  of  October 
29,  1824,  to  the  presidents  of  Williams  College  and  Union 
College :  ' '  During  our  last  spring  and  summer  Terms  un- 
usual disorder  prevailed  among  our  students.  They  broke 
open  the  Library :  they  beat  down  the  Pulpit :  they  pre- 
vented or  disturbed  for  several  weeks  a  regular  recitation : 
they  even  assailed  our  house,  in  the  night,  and  broke  the 
windows.  Severe  punishments  were,  therefore,  inflicted ; 
and  order  was  restored. — Many,  however,  formed  combi- 
nations for  the  redress  of  what  they  called  grievances;  and, 
failing  in  this,  some,  it  is  reported,  are  now  making  appli- 
cation for  admittance  into  other  institutions. ' '  The  students' 
side  is  given  in  an  anonymous  pamphlet,  "A  True  and 

[    188   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Candid  Statement  of  Facts,"  published  in  January,  1826, 
in  New  Haven.  It  asserts  that  the  instruction  given  to  the 
junior  class  in  the  spring  of  1824  was  inadequate  because 
of  the  resignation  or  absence  of  certain  professors,  and  that 
a  petition  to  the  Corporation  on  the  subject,  lodged  a\  ith 
Judge  Ho\\'ell,  resulted  in  the  rustication  or  suspension 
of  several  of  the  petitioners  by  the  "tyrannical"  Presi- 
dent. The  concluding  sentence,  with  a  punning  allusion  to 
the  recent  retirement  of  Professor  Calvin  Park,  glances  at 
Messer's  theological  views  :  "Though  we  \\ould  rather  see 
the  Rev.  President  calvinistic  in  his  religion,  than  in  the 
abdication  of  his  office  ;  yet  we  hope,  that,  for  the  honor  of 
human  nature,  literature  and  religion,  it  may  please  Heaven, 
so  to  overrule  events,  that  soon  the  tyrant  may  be  shaken 
from  his  throne." 

The  pamphlet  contains  no  explanation  why  it  was  brought 
out  a  year  or  more  after  the  events  it  describes ;  but  it  was 
doubtless  called  forth  by  certain  communications  which  had 
appeared  in  Providence  newspapers  during  the  year  1825. 
One,  by ' '  Vindex, ' '  in  The  Independent  Inquirer  of  May  5 , 
asserts  that  a  small  party  in  the  Corporation,  chiefly  from 
' '  a  particular  class  of  a  particular  denomination  of  Chris- 
tians," have  "for  long  time"  constituted  a  "determined 
and  untiring  opposition"  to  the  President. ' '  In  proof  of  this, 
let  the  history  of  last  year  be  referred  to.  During  that  time, 
were  not  certain  students,  or  persons  who  were  then  students, 
again  and  again  closeted  with  certain  members  of  the  Cor- 
poration? Were  they  not  frequently  taking  sweet  counsel  at 
the  fountains  of  legal  science,  or  theological  mystery?  Were 
they  not  told,  that  the  Corporation  were  ready  and  anxious 
to  remove  the  faculty,  and  were  only  waiting  for  a  suitable 
occasion,  and  that  a  certain  famous  wonder-working  peti- 
tion, would  be  just  the  thing?  "  "Alumnus,"  in  the  same 

C    189  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

paper,  on  August  18,  says  :  "  It  is  well  known  to  the  friends 
of  Brown  University,  that,  for  several  years  past,  there  has 
been  a  division  of  sentiment  in  the  corporation  with  respect 
to  its  executive  Governor.  .  .  .  But  what  is  the  cause  of 
this  opposition  ?  .  .  ,  It  is  simply,  because  these  gentlemen 
imagine  that  he  differs  from  them  in  matters  of  Religion, 
This  is  the  foundation  upon  which  their  opposition  is  built, 
and  from  this  has  arisen  a  course  of  conduct  that  any  party 
might  well  blush  to  avow." 

How  much  truth,  if  any,  there  was  in  these  charges,  it 
is  now  impossible  to  determine.  It  is  certain  that  President 
Messer  himself  believed  that  his  theological  opponents  had 
deliberately  hindered  the  growth  of  the  college,  for  in  a  let- 
ter of  October  10,  1825,  addressed  to  a  Baptist  clergyman 
in  England,  he  said  :  "Brown  University  continues  in  statu 
quo.  Its  progress  has  been  retarded  by  orthodox  exertions 
for  exterminating  heresy.  O  when  will  popery  entirely  leave 
the  earth.  .  .  .  What  the  future  effect  of  those  exertions  will 
be  on  the  University  I  cannot  say ;  but  I  can  say  that,  for 
myself,  I  fear  none  of  them  ;  determined,  as  you  quote  from 
Milton,  to  'proceed  right  onward,'  maugre  all  the  dangers 
which  may  be  threatened."  This  does  not  specify  what 
form  these ' '  exertions  "took  —  it  might  or  might  not  refer  to 
such  acts  as  "  Vindex  "  alleges.  But  in  another  anonymous 
pamphlet,  "An  Exposition  of  Certain  Newspaper  Publica- 
tions," appearing  in  August,  1826,  the  assertion  is  boldly 
made  that  "Vindex"  and  "Alumnus"  were  tutors  in 
Brown  University,  and  that  President  Messer  had  approved 
of  and  even  revised  their  articles.  While  this  is  hardly  cred- 
ible, and  the  pamphlet  itself  says  the  President  denied  it 
to  a  member  of  the  Corporation,  the  fact  that  his  defenders 
connected  the  student  disorders  with  the  theological  oppo- 
sition to  the  President  is  significant.  And  finally,  Messer's 

C    190  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

first  letter  of  resignation,  c|uoted  below,  seems  to  imply  belief 
in  such  a  connection.  In  any  case,  the  charges  and  counter- 
charges made  a  very  disagreeable  situation  for  the  man  at 
the  center  of  the  storm.  The  second  anonymous  pamphlet 
attacked  him  openly  and  with  venom,  and  called  for  deci- 
sive action  at  the  approaching  Commencement.  "  It  is  need- 
less to  recapitulate  all  the  grievances  which  exist. — They 
are  generally  but  too  well  known,  and  their  eft'ects  too  deeply 
felt.  They  can  be  all  comprised  in  these  few  \\  ords :  The 
INCUMBENCY  OF  THE  PRESENT  PRESIDENT. '  The  head  is  sick  and 
the  whole  heart'  fainteth." 

Here  was  a  coil  to  weary  and  disgust  the  most  patient 
man.  The  last  straw  was  laid  on  the  President's  broad 
back  at  the  Corporation  meeting  in  September,  1826,  when 
a  Baptist  trustee  asserted  that  the  charges  against  him  in 
the  pamphlet  could  be  proved.  On  September  20  Messer 
wrote  to  this  trustee  :  "Having  just  read  the  annonymous 
Pamphlet  concerning  which  you  volunteered  your  testi- 
mony at  the  late  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  Brown  Univer- 
sity, I  hasten  to  state  to  you,  the  reputed  author  of  it,  that 
that  Pamphlet  contains  respecting  me  infamous  falsehoods  ; 
and  that  I  am  preparing  to  institute  such  Process  in  the 
case  as  may  seem  due  to  truth,  as  well  as  to  self."  But  he 
was  evidently  weary  of  the  whole  affair  ;  and  on  September 
23  he  wrote  two  letters  to  the  secretary  of  the  Corporation, 
resigning  the  presidency.  The  first,  which  he  did  not  send, 
contains  these  sentences:  "The  pungency  of  the  reflection 
that  I  am  leaving  an  office  which  I  have  held  24  years,  and 
a  College  of  which  I  have  been  either  an  officer  or  a  pupil 
39  years  is,  I  can  assure  you,  greatly  increased  by  the  belief 
that  the  perplexities  which  induce  me  to  leave  them  grow 
out  of  the  consideration  that  I  can  not  allow  that  there  [are] 
more  Gods  than  one ;  or  deny  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  son 

[    191    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  God.  ...  I  A\ould  not  do  either  for  all  the  offices  in  the 
world.  ...  I  A\  ish  to  live  where  I  may,  without  molesta- 
tion, serve  the  living  and  true  GOD,  and  wait  for  his  son 
from  heaven."  The  letter  sent  is  as  follows: 

Providence  Sept.  23cl.  1826 
To  the  Hon.  Saml.  Eddy, 

Secretary  of  Brown  University 
dear  Sir. 

I  take  the  liberty  to  request  you  to  infonn  the  Hon.  Corporation  of 
Brown  Uni\ersit>^  that  I  resign  my  office  in  that  Institution.  On  leav- 
ing an  office  which  I  have  held  24  years,  and  an  institution  of  which 
I  have  been  either  an  officer,  or  a  pupil  39  years,  I,  though  inclined 
to  make  many  reflections,  shall  now  make  but  this  one ;  that  probably 
I  feel  somewhat  like  one  who  is  breaking  up  long,  dear  friendships, 
and  bidding  the  world  farewell.  I  pray  that,  when  the  time  for  my 
doing  this  shall  actually  arrive,  and  it  may  arrive  in  a  day,  or  an  hour, 
I  may  be  enabled  to  think  that  I  have  served  my  GOD  as  faithflilh" 
as  I  have  served  Brown  University ;  and  I  also  pray  that  He,  who 
was  the  GOD  of  Abraham,  and,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  utter  a  little 
heresy,  the  God  of  Jesus,  may  have  that  seat  of  literature  and  all  its 
Patrons,  as  well  as  you  and  me,  in  his  holy  keeping. 

Asa  Messer 

The  resignation  was  not  formally  acted  upon  until  Decem- 
ber 13,  when,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  in  the  Presi- 
dent's house,  he  being  absent,  it  was  accepted  without  com- 
ment. Alva  Woods,  professor  of  mathematics  and  natural 
philosophy  since  1824,  had  already  been  made  president 
ad  wtenm,  and  served  until  the  accession  of  a  new  president 
early  in  the  next  year. 

Of  Dr.  Messer  as  a  man  and  a  college  president  it  is  pos- 
sible to  form  a  picture  from  his  letters  and  from  descriptions 
of  him  by  his  pupils.  The  portrait  of  him  in  the  possession 
of  the  university,  painted  by  James  L.  Lincoln  from  minia- 
tures, gives  the  impression  of  homely  strength  rather  than 
of  finish  or  grace ;  and  this  is  confirmed  by  all  that  is  known 

C    192   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  him.  Professor  Edwards  A.  Park,  his  pupil,  says  of  his  ap- 
pearance :  "  No  one  uho  has  ever  seen  him  can  ever  forget 
him.  His  individuality  was  made  unmistakable  by  his  phys- 
ical frame.  This,  while  it  was  above  the  average  height, 
was  also  in  breadth  an  emblem  of  the  expansi\'eness  of  his 
mental  capacity.  A  'long  head'  was  vulgarly  ascribed  to 
him,  but  it  was  breadth  that  marked  his  forehead  ;  there 
was  an  expressive  breadth  in  his  maxillary  bones ;  his 
broad  shoulders  were  a  sign  of  the  A\"eight  w'hich  he  was  able 
to  bear ;  his  manner  of  walking  was  a  noticeable  symbol 
of  the  reach  of  his  mind  ;  he  swung  his  cane  far  and  wide 
as  he  walked,  and  no  obser\er  would  doubt  that  he  was 
an  independent  man."  "He  had  some  marked  peculiarities 
of  manner,"  says  President  Sears,  "such  as  .  .  .  a  swelling 
of  the  cheeks  when  displeased,  accompanied  with  a  quick, 
gruff  utterance. " 

Intellectually  he  was  characterized  by  native  vigor  and 
masculine  sense,  not  by  suppleness,  imagination,  or  culture. 
He  was  a  man  of  practical  wisdom  —  a  judicious  farmer,  a 
shrewd  man  of  business ;  and  by  these  qualities,  combined 
with  thrift  and  economy,  he  got  together  a  snug  fortune. 
He  owned  a  farm  or  two  and  shares  in  a  cotton  factory,  and 
his  letters  show  that  he  looked  after  his  material  interests 
very  keenly.  To  his  nephew,  the  lessee  of  one  of  his  farms, 
who  had  made  a  proposal  about  stocking  it,  he  wrote  in 
1816 :  "  You  must  not  think  that  your  uncle  Asa,  though 
he  is  growing  old,  has  yet  become  either  so  old  or  so  silly, 
that  he  will  buy  cows,  and  put  them  on  a  farm  of  his  own, 
in  the  expectation  of  receiving  for  each  only  two  dollars, 
and  an  half  pr.  year."  On  the  management  of  the  factory 
he  wrote  thus,  in  1815,  to  a  fellow -ow ner :  "On  acct.  of 
our  debts  our  agent  is  generally  obliged  to  make  his  pur- 
chases and  his  sales  very  much  like  a  man  on  the  verge  of 

C    193   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Bankrupcy;  and  can  any  man  prosper,  who  is  obliged  to  pur- 
sue a  course  like  this  ?  .  .  .  This  consideration  alone  compels 
me  to  fear,  that,  in  the  present  state  of  the  cotton  business, 
every  turn  of  our  M'heel  turns  us  farther  into  the  mud.  .  .  . 
I  wish  to  inquire,  whether  we  ought  not  to  ascertain  with 
certamtij  whether  the  mill  is  swimming,  or  sinking  ?  and  if 
she  should  be  sinking,  w  hether  we  had  not  better  put  under 
her  some  buoys,  or  bladders,  or  bank-bills^  or  something,  or 
other,  and  prevent  her  going  to  the  botom." 

In  his  public  addresses  Messer  never  attempted  flights 
of  imagination  or  poetical  fancies ;  but  his  thought  was  ju- 
dicious, his  reasoning  solid,  and  his  style  plain  and  strong. 
These  qualities  may  be  illustrated  by  a  passage  from  his 
oration,  in  1803,  before  the  Providence  Association  of  Me- 
chanics and  Manufacturers : 

Are  we  willing  to  fne  in  a  state  of  dependence  on  other  nations ?  No. 
We  abhor,  we  despise  the  suggestion.  We  glor>^  in  our  independence, 
as  well  national  as  individual;  and  we  are  determined  to  defend  it 
even  at  the  hazard  of  our  lives.  But  can  we  be  independent  of  other 
nations,  while  we  depend  on  them  for  almost  all  the  clothing  of  our 
bodies,  and  for  almost  all  the  furniture  of  our  houses  ?  Can  we  be  in- 
dependent of  other  nations,  while  we  cannot  print  a  book  without  their 
types,  nor  make  a  pen  without  their  penknife,  nor  a  shirt  without  their 
needle,  nor  even  a  shoe  without  their  awl?  No.  While  we  depend  on 
them  for  any  article  of  necessity,  our  independence  is  defective. 

His  delivery  fitted  his  thought  and  style.  "  He  gesticulated 
broadly  as  he  preached , ' '  writes  Professor  Park  ;  "his  enun- 
ciation was  forcible,  now  and  then  overwhelming,  sometimes 
shrill,  but  was  characterized  by  a  breadth  of  tone  and  a  pro- 
longed emphasis  which  added  to  its  momentum,  and  made 
an  indelible  impression  on  the  memory."  "In  earnest  pub- 
lic discourse,"  says  President  Sears,  he  had  "a  muscular 
force  and  over-strained  emphasis,  with  a  peculiar  gesture, 

C    194   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN   UNIVERSITY 

as  if  he  would  grasp  his  subject  in  the  extended  down\\ard 
curvature  of  his  right  hand  and  arm." 

He  was  not  a  profound  scholar,  but  had  a  firm  grasp  upon 
a  wide  range  of  subjects.  He  received  the  degree  of  D.D. 
from  BroA\n  University  in  1806,  of  LL.D.  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vermont  in  1812,  and  of  S.T.D.  from  Harvard 
University  in  1820.  "For  what  is  termed  polite  literature," 
writes  Professor  William  G.  Goddard,  his  pupil  and  col- 
league, "he  had  no  particular  fondness,  but  he  was  a  good 
classical  scholar,  and  was  well  versed  in  the  Mathematics, 
and  the  several  branches  of  Natural  Philosophy.  In  moral 
science,  also.  Me  haxe  known  few  better  reasoners  or  more 
successful  teachers. ' '  ' '  He  was  a  powerful  and  sound  moral 
reasoner, ' '  says  President  Sears, ' '  and  no  thoughtful  young 
man,  who  listened  to  his  Sunday  evening  discourses,  could 
fail  to  carry  away  impressions  not  easily  removed."  He 
seems  to  have  been  lacking  in  subtlety  of  mind  and  the 
higher  philosophical  faculties,  but  within  his  limits  he  was 
an  acute  reasoner,  as  is  shown  by  his  articles  in  The  Provi- 
dence Patriot  and  Columbian  Phenix^  in  1818,  on  mysteries 
in  religion,  which  he  deemed  absurdities.  In  science,  also, 
his  gift  was  practical  rather  than  theoretical.  In  1817  he 
was  consulted  about  the  proper  height  for  the  lighthouse 
at  Jamestown,  and  in  several  letters  expounded  the  physi- 
cal laws  governing  the  case.  He  made  some  inventions, 
including  a  "  Messer's  Pneumatic  Engine,  or  Philosophical 
bellows, ' '  and  ' '  a  new  &  useful  improvement  in  the  mode  of 
using  water  wheels  &  furnishing  them  with  \\ater,"  and 
was  granted  a  patent  for  the  latter. 

Of  President  Messer  as  a  teacher  not  much  is  known. 
Governor  William  L.  Marcy,  one  of  his  earlier  pupils,  says: 
"He  always  met  his  class  .  .  .  with  a  kindly  spirit  and  man- 
ner, and  never  assumed  any  offensive  official  airs,  or  did  any 

C   195   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

thing  that  seemed  designed  to  impress  us  with  a  sense  of  his 
superiority.  He  was  often  very  famihar  in  our  recitations, 
and  sometimes  introduced  anecdotes,  by  way  of  ilkistra- 
tion,  that  we  thought  more  remarkable  for  good-humour  and 
appropriateness  than  for  the  highest  Hterary  refinement." 
The  Rev.  Dr.  James  W.Thompson,  of  the  class  of  1827, 
said  of  him  at  Commencement  in  1877 :  "I  assure  you  he 
was  .  .  .  '  every  inch  a  man,'  of  learning  ample  for  his  day 
and  place,  of  logical  power  all  compact,  a  model,  in  fact, 
of  clear,  close  reasoning  in  his  lectures  to  the  students." 
President  Sears,  who  also  came  under  him  in  his  later  years, 
calls  him  "a  genial,  pleasant  teacher,"  and  adds  what  is 
really  high  praise :  "As  he  was  independent  himself,  so  he 
wished  his  pupils  to  be.  He  had  no  imitators,  he  wished  to 
have  none.  The  many  eminent  men  educated  under  him  had 
no  other  resemblance  to  each  other,  than  freedom  from  au- 
thority. There  is  among  them  no  uniform  style  of  thought, 
resulting  from  its  being  run  in  the  same  mould.  Even  among 
the  undergraduates,  there  w^as  a  personal  independence  of 
character  and  thought,  and  a  manliness  of  deportment  and 
self-respect  that  gave  a  certain  air  of  dignity  to  the  two  upper 
classes." 

The  same  shrewd  common  sense  which  President  Mes- 
ser  showed  in  business  characterized  him  as  a  college  disci- 
plinarian and  administrator.  President  Sears  writes: 

In  discipline,  in  his  best  days,  he  was  adroit,  having  a  keen  insight  into 
human  nature,  and  touching  at  will,  skillfully,  all  the  chords  of  the  stu- 
dent's heart.  Rarely  was  he  mistaken  in  the  character  of  a  young  man, 
or  in  the  motive  to  which  he  appealed,  in  order  to  influence  him.  Foi- 
bles and  weaknesses,  he  treated  with  some  degree  of  indulgence;  but 
vice  and  willful  wrong,  he  treated  with  unsparing  severity.  In  govern- 
ment he  followed  no  abstract  principles, — which  so  often  mislead  the 
theorist,  —  but  depended  on  his  good  sense  in  each  case,  giving  con- 
siderable scope  to  views  of  expediency.  The  student  who  attempted  to 

C    ^96  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

circumvent  him,  was  sure  to  be  outwitted  in  the  end.  On  account  of 
his  great  shrewdness,  he  was  sometimes  called  ^the  cunning  President.' 
One  of  the  nuany  anecdotes  related  of  him  is,  that  he  kept  in  his  room 
a  bottle  of  picra  for  sick  students;  and  tliat  e\er\'  one  who  amie  to  him 
to  be  excused  from  dut)'  on  account  of  headaches,  found  it  necessar)' 
to  swallow  a  dose  before  leaving  the  room. 

In  spite  of  his  severity  he  was  popular  with  the  great  major- 
ity of  the  undergraduates.  Governor  Marcy  says:  "Dr. 
Messer  sustained  his  position  as  President  of  the  College  in 
a  highly  creditable  manner,  and  was  generally  esteemed  and 
beloved  by  the  students.  He  was  regarded  as  a  man  of  even 
temper,  honest  in  his  purposes,  free  from  prejudice,  and  well 
adapted  to  exercise  that  kind  of  authority  which  pertained 
to  his  office."  Professor  Edwards  A.  Park,  one  of  his  latest 
pupils,  speaks  much  to  the  same  effect:  "I  have  seldom 
known  a  veteran  in  the  government  of  a  College,  who  w^as 
so  strict  a  disciplinarian,  so  clear-headed  a  diplomatist,  and 
at  the  same  time  so  apt  in  uttering  kindly  words  to  the  boys 
whom  he  met  in  the  street,  so  ready  with  a  cheering  proverb 
or  a  sprightly  turn  with  the  care-worn  and  down-hearted." 
It  may  be  that  he  grew  somewhat  capricious  and  arbitrary 
toward  theend,  although  the  charges  of  tyranny  and  double- 
dealing  are  probably  the  exaggerations  of  enemies  in  the 
heat  of  a  quarrel. 

His  letter-books  afford  pleasing  evidence  that  in  the  first 
half  of  his  presidency,  at  least,  he  felt  a  fatherly  interest  in 
the  students  and  watched  over  their  physical  and  moral 
welfare  with  tender  care.  A  few  selections  will  show  this 
gentler  side  of  his  nature.  To  an  anxious  mother  he  WTites 
thus,  in  1812: 

To  your  favor  of  the  9th.  Inst.  I  hasten  to  reply,  That,  though  I  have 
examined  the  case,  I  cannot  find  that  Henrv'  is  addicted  to  Ciambling. 
I  hope,  therefore,  that  this  charge  is  without  foundation.  .  .  .  Though 

i   197  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  Progress  of  Henry  is  not  such  as  we  wish  it  to  be,  I  still  do  not 
know  that  any  reasons  of  dissatisfaction  exist  at  present  greater  than 
actually  existed  when  I  sent  you  my  last  letter.  I,  at  any  rate,  feel  as 
willing  notv^  as  I  felt  then^  to  give  him  a  further  trial.  Whether  this 
will  be  best  for  him,  I  cannot  determine.  If  I  must  err  at  all,  I  had 
rather  err  in  the  way  of  tenderness,  than  in  the  way  of  severity. 

The  following  was  written  to  the  father  of  a  Virginian  lad, 
in  1813: 

On  the  morning  after  I  wrote  my  letter  of  25th.  ult.  which  I  suppose 
you  have  received  before  now,  I  visited  your  son,  and  found  him  in 
a  very  unpleasant  condition.  I,  indeed,  was  alarmed.  And  fearing  that 
he  might  not,  at  his  room,  obtain  the  best  accommodations,  I  invited 
him  to  come  to  my  house,  and  to  remain  in  my  family  until  his  in- 
disposition should  be  removed.  After  expressing  much  thankfulness 
for  the  invi[t]ation,  he  observed  that  Mr.  Lippitt  had  just  before 
gi^'en  him  an  invitation  to  go  to  his  house,  and  that  he  had  accepted  it, 
though  unable  to  go  that  day.  Being  the  next  day  a  little  more  com- 
fortable, he  was  bro't  from  his  room,  put  into  my  can-iage,  and  car- 
ried to  Mr.  Lippitts. 

Several  weeks  later,  when  the  young  man  was  able  to  go 
home,  although  still  weak,  the  President  and  his  wife  ' '  rode 
twelve,  or  fourteen  miles  to  the  Tavern  where  he  expected  to 
breakfast,  with  the  view  both  of  showing  him  respect,  h.  and 
of  seeing  the  manner  in  which  traveling  might  affect  him. " 
The  following  extracts  from  letters  of  1811-13  illustrate 
at  once  Messer's  patient  attention  to  troublesome  details  and 
the  extravagance  of  a  young  Southern  blood  in  a  Northern 
college : 

I  have  requested  ^'our  son  to  give  me  an  estimate  of  the  money  he  will 
need  the  ensuing  }'ear.  This  he  has  actually  given,  and  it  amounts  to 
$550.  In  this  estimate  he  has  placed  ^150  for  pocket-money,  and  ^50, 
for  boots  and  shoes.  One  dollar  a  week,  however,  for  pocket-money 
is  better  than  a  larger  sum ;  and  twentj'  dollars  a  year  I  should  think 
would  answer  for  boots  and  shoes.  Be  this  as  it  may,  I  am  still  con- 
fident that  no  Principles  either  of  Interest  or  honor,  would  require  him 

C    198   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

to  expend  more  than  ^450.  I  do  not,  indeed,  know  a  single  scholar 
among  us,  who  expends  a  sum  so  large  as  this;  and  were  your  son, 
7nine^  I  would  rather  you  would  give  him,  in  this  view,  ^300,  than 
$A50. 

I  have  requested  your  son  not  to  contract  anv  other  debts  without 
my  knowledge;  for  I  find  that  the  value  of  Money  has  not  }et  engaged 
his  attention. 

Since  my  last,  several  applications  have  been  made  similar  to  that  of 
Mr.  Braman.The  amount  of  them  all  would  much  surpass  the  amount 
of  money  remaining  in  my  hands.  Your  son,  indeed,  says  that  he  owes 
in  Boston  about  ^600.  In  my  opinion,  this  sum  is  at  least  as  small  as 
the  reality. 

Your  son,  in  general,  enjoys  good  health,  and  a  good  flow  of  spirits. 
.  .  .  Though  on  the  score  of  expense,  I  cannot  bring  him  within  the 
limits  I  could  wish,  I  cannot  persuade  him  to  think  that  he  is  inclined 
to  extravagance.  He  seems  actually  to  think  himself  economical. 

A  boot  and  shoe  Maker's  bill,  amounting  to  ;^116,  (to  what  use  so 
many  boots  and  shoes  could  have  been  applied  I  do  not  know)  on 
which,  however,  ^$40,  had  been  paid,  has  actually  been  lodged  with 
anAttomey  in  this  Town  for  collection.  .  ,  .  From  information  lately 
handed  me,  I  am  induced  to  believe  that  your  sons  debts  in  Provi- 
dence are  greater  than  I  had  anticipated.  Since  the  Commencement  of 
our  vacation  he  has,  I  am  told,  gone  on  a  visit  to  New- York ;  and  I 
am  also  told  that,  for  this  visit,  and  for  expenses  incurred  at  other  times, 
he  has  borrowed  of  one  man  nearlv  ^200  in  cash.  .  .  .  He  does  not 
seem  sufficiently  to  feel  the  value  either  of  money,  or  of  time.  ...  I 
am  often  exhorting  him  on  the  subject;  and  he  is  always  read}'  to  con- 
fess, and  to  promise;  but. . 

President  Messer  shovv^ed  his  common  sense  in  the  large  lines 
of  his  academic  policy,  which  was  that  of  an  intelligent  con- 
servatism, attempting  no  impracticable  innovations,  but 
seeking  to  build  on  the  old  foundations  as  solidly  and  as 
high  as  the  available  means  allowed.  His  wisdom  and  suc- 
cess in  this  are  ably  set  forth  in  the  following  extract  from 
an  anonymous  pamphlet,  "Brown  University  under  the 

I    ^99   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Presidency  of  Asa  Messer,  S.T.D.,  LL.D.,"  published  in 
1867,  and  attributed  to  the  Rev.  Silas  A.  Crane,  of  the  class 
of  1823,  who  was  a  tutor  from  1824  to  1828: 

His  policy  was  that  of  demand  and  supply.  He  offered  the  country  such 
a  college  education  as  it  could  pay  for;  and  such,  too,  as  the  necessities 
of  its  condition  then  compelled  it  gladly  to  accept.  Here  we  have  the 
rule  by  which  he  fixed  the  requirements  for  matriculation,  and  the  whole 
subsequent  course  of  undergraduate  studies.  Here,  too,  we  see  the  rea- 
son for  that  system  of  rigid  economy,  which  under  his  management  per- 
vaded every  department  of  the  institution.^ .  .  .  Hence,  too,  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  vacations^  assigning  the  long  one  to  the  winter,  that  the 
students  might  help  out  their  scanty  means  by  teaching  the  common 
schools  of  the  countrv,  then  taught  almost  only  in  that  season  of  the 
year.  ...  It  is  not  easy  for  us  now  to  feel  the  fliU  force  of  the  reasons 
which  led  to  this  policy,  nor  to  picture  to  our  minds  the  full  extent  and 
magnitude  of  the  happy  results  that  then  followed  it.  Under  its  benign 
influence,  hundreds  of  young  men  who  had  otherwise  been  doomed 
to  a  life  of  comparative  ignorance  and  inefficiency  were  able  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  intellectual  culture  and  future  usefi-ilness;  and  the  whole 
country,  not  less  than  themselves,  shared  in  the  wide-spread  and  lasting 
benefits. 

Upon  his  resignation  of  the  presidency  Dr.  Messer  removed 
to  the  western  part  of  the  town,  where  he  bought  a  small 
farm  with  a  fine  colonial  mansion  on  it,  near  the  street  which 
now  bears  his  name.  Here  he  lived  quietly,  occupied  with 
his  business  aifairs,  and  for  many  years  serving  as  alder- 
man. While  he  was  still  president,  in  1818,  he  had  been 
appointed  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state, 
but  had  declined  the  office,  partly  because  it  was  incompat- 
ible with  his  "  collegial  functions."  In  1830  he  ran  for  gov- 
ernor on  the  "National  Republican  &  Landholders  Prox," 
and  was  defeated.  In  the  last  year  of  his  life  he  was  again 
oifered  the  nomination,  but  declined.  He  died  on  October  11, 

^  In  the  catalogue  of  1825-26  is  tlie  statement,  "Tuition,  Library,  Room 
Rent,  and  Board,  less  tlian  $100  per  annum." 

[    200    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

1836,  after  a  short  illness,  and  was  buried  in  the  North 
Burial  Ground.  At  a  special  meeting  on  October  14,  1836, 
the  Faculty  passed  the  following  resolution:  "That  the 
Faculty  of  Brown  University  learn,  w  ith  deep  regret,  that 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Messer,  an  eminent  son  of  this  University,  and 
for  a  long  course  of  years  its  presiding  officer,  is  no  more ; 
that  we  are  impressed  with  a  strong  conviction  of  his  ac- 
knowledged merits  as  an  Instructor,  of  his  vigorous  intel- 
lect, and  of  his  solid  learning ;  and  that  we  gratefully  rec- 
ognize his  title  to  the  best  distinctions  of  the  Citizen,  the 
Man,  and  the  Christian." 

In  the  twenty-four  years  of  President  Messer' s  adminis- 
tration 693  men  graduated  in  the  regular  course,  301  more 
than  during  the  tx^entA'^-eight  years  in  which  degrees  were 
granted  under  Presidents  Manning  and  Maxcy.  Thosewho 
reached  distinction  were  fewer  in  proportion  to  the  \\'hole 
number  than  in  the  early  years  of  the  college,  but  the  list 
is  nevertheless  honorable.  It  includes  six  college  presidents  : 
Barnas  Sears  and  Alexis  Caswell  presided  over  their  Alma 
Mater ;  Jasper  Adams,  after  resigning  his  professorship  in 
Brown  University,  was  president  of  the  College  of  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  and  of  Geneva  (now  Hobart)  College ; 
Wilbur  Fisk  became  president  of  Wesleyan  University, 
Rufus  Babcock  of  Waterville  (now  Colby)  College,  and  Hor- 
ace Mann  of  Antioch  College.  The  last  named,  however,  did 
his  greatest  work  as  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of 
Education  from  1837  to  1848,  remodeling  the  school  sys- 
tem of  that  state  and  thereby  profoundly  affecting  public- 
school  education  throughout  the  nation.  Seven  men  attained 
to  more  or  less  eminence  as  professors  in  colleges  and  semi- 
naries: William  G.Goddard  and  Romeo  Elton  served  BroA\n 
University  for  many  years  under  President  Wayland,  the 
latter  as  professor  of  Greek  and  Latin,  the  former  as  ])ro- 

C    201     ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

fessor  of  moral  philosophy,  metaphysics,  and  belles-lettres; 
Solomon  Peck  became  professor  of  Latin  and  Hebrew  in 
Amherst  College ;  William  Ruggles  taught  in  Columbian 
College,  Washington,  for  fifty-two  years  as  tutor  and  pro- 
fessor of  various  subjects,  besides  performing  the  duties  of 
acting  president  at  three  different  periods  ;  George  W.  Keely 
held  the  chair  of  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  in 
Waterville  College  for  twenty-three  years  ;  Enoch  Pond  was 
professor  in  Bangor  Theological  Seminary  for  thirty-eight 
years  and  president  for  fourteen  ;  Edwards  A.  Park,  a  giant 
in  body  and  mind,  was  professor  in  Andover  Theological 
Seminary  for  forty -five  years.  Authors  and  editors  of  some 
note  were  not  lacking :  David  Benedict  published  A  Gen- 
eral History  of  the  Baptist  Denomination  (1813),  besides  sev- 
eral other  historical  works  ;  William  R.  Staples  brought  out 
his  Annals  of  the  TownofProvidencein  1843,  and  performed 
other  valuable  historical  labor  ;  Albert  G.  Greene  published 
various  poems,  including  "  Old  Grimes,"  and  began  the 
Harris  Collection  of  American  Poetry ;  David  Reed  was  for 
forty-five  years  editor  of  The  Christian  Register^  the  leading 
Unitarian  newspaper;  George  D.  Prentice,  by  his  brilliant 
conduct  of  the  Louisville  (Kentucky)  Journal  for  forty  years, 
exerted  a  far-reaching  influence  through  the  Southwest, 
besides  writing  a  life  of  Henry  Clay,  and  delivering  orations 
which  every  school-boy  was  declaiming  a  generation  or  two 
ago.  In  educating  Benjamin  B.  Smith  and  George  Burgess 
the  college  was  helping  to  prepare  two  Episcopal  bishops 
for  their  life-work ,  the  latter  as  bishop  of  Maine  for  nearly 
twenty  years,  the  former  as  bishop  of  Kentucky  for  over 
half  a  century.  In  Messer's  administration,  too,  graduated 
the  brilliant  and  heroic  missionary  to  Burmah,  Adoniram 
Judson.  Samuel  G.  Howe  had  hardly  left  his  mischievous 
boyhood  behind  when  he  plunged  into  the  Greek  war  for  in- 

[     202    J 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

dependence,  later  ser^  ing  as  siirgeon-in-chief  to  the  Greek 
fleet ;  he  came  home  to  do  a  great  liumanitarian  m  ork  in  his 
native  city,  as  superintendent  for  forty-four  years  of  the 
Perkins  Institution  for  the  Blind.  Into  the  business  world, 
too,  the  college  sent  its  representatives  of  distinction  in  the 
persons  of  such  men  as  Moses  Brown  Ives,  John  Carter 
Brown,  and  Robert  H,  Ives,  all  liberal-minded  merchants 
and  public-spirited  citizensof  Providence,  and  Isaac  Davis  of 
Worcester,  mayor,  legislator,  railroad  director,  bank  presi- 
dent, college  trustee,  and  much  else  besides.  Public  life  was 
enriched  by  many  graduates  of  these  days  :  among  the  more 
notable  were  Theron  Metcalf,  on  the  bench  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts supreme  court,  and  Job  Durfee  and  Samuel  Ames, 
both  chief  justices  of  the  Rhode  Island  supreme  court ;  in 
Marcus  Morton  the  college  furnished  Massachusetts  with 
a  Congressman,  a  justice  of  its  supreme  court,  and  a  gov- 
ernor ;  Jared  W.  Williams  served  the  state  of  New  Hamp- 
shire as  governor.  Congressman,  and  United  States  senator ; 
Rhode  Island  had  a  governor  and  a  United  States  senator 
in  John  B.  Francis ;  William  L.  Marcy  held  the  same  offices 
in  New  York,  and  was  also  Secretary  of  War  to  President 
Polk  and  Secretarv  of  State  to  President  Pierce. 


C  203  ] 


CHAPTER  VI 
PRESIDENT  WAYLAND'S  ADMINISTRATION 

PERSONALITY    AND    METHODS    OF    THE    NEW  PRESIDENT  :   END  OF    THE 

MEDICAL  SCHOOL  :  CHANGES  IN  THE  CURRICULUM  :  THE  LIBRARY  FUND  : 

NEW  BUILDINGS   :   STUDENT  LIFE  :  THE  DORR    WAR 

IN  the  diary  of  Williams  Latham,  a  senior  in  Brown  Uni- 
versity, occurs  this  entry  under  date  of  March  1,  1827: 
"Francis  Wayland  has  taken  the  presidential  chair  —  and 
seems  to  be  well  qualified  for  his  station.  He  has  made 
great  alterations  in  the  course  of  studies,  in  the  regula- 
tions of  College  and  in  the  manner  of  reciteing  —  He  car- 
ries no  book  into  the  recitation  room  nor  suffers  any  of  the 
students  to  do  it  —  We  are  obliged  to  keep  in  our  rooms 
all  study  hours,  they  being  visited  as  often  as  twice  a  day 
by  some  officer."  Six  days  later  he  records  this  experience : 
' '  Since  9  Oclock  I  have  been  into  Peter  Minard's  room  and 
have  had  a  little  singing  with  him — But  we  were  inter- 
rupted by  the  President  who  thought  we  could  not  be  per- 
mitted to  sing  between  nine  and  ten  Oclock  in  the  even- 
ing— Thus  he  has  deprived  us  of  a  privilege  which  we 
esteemed  very  valuable."  May  9  he  sums  up  thus  :  "This 
term  has  been  the  most  profitable  one,  since  I  have  been  in 
College  —  not  only  on  account  of  the  great  improvement 
that  has  been  made  in  the  various  studies  here  attended  to 
But  good  habits  of  study  have  been  formed.  We  have  laid 
a  good  foundation  for  prosecuting  our  future  studies  with 
advantage." 

These  entries  give  evidence  that  a  powerful  driving  force 
had  come  to  Brown  University  in  the  personality  of  Fran- 
cis Wayland,  one  of  the  greatest  college  presidents  of  his 
century.  The  new  president  was  still  young,  only  thirty-one 
years  of  age ;  but  he  had  had  a  varied  training  which,  added 

[     204    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

to  his  natural  gifts,  peculiarly  fitted  him  for  the  work  that 
lay  before  him.  He  was  born  on  March  11,  1796,  in  New 
York  City,  of  English  parents  \\ho  had  come  to  the  United 
States  three  years  before.  They  were  of  the  middle  class,  and 
belonged  to  the  Baptist  denomination;  the  father,  for  many 
years  a  currier,  became  a  Baptist  minister  in  1807.  Presi- 
dent Wayland  got  his  early  training  chiefly  from  his  mother, 
an  intellectual  and  devout  woman.  A  few  years  in  school 
fitted  him  to  enter  Union  College  as  a  sophomore  in  the 
spring  of  1811,  and  he  graduated  in  1813  in  his  eighteenth 
year.  He  next  studied  medicine  under  two  physicians  in 
Troy,  and  in  the  winter  of  1814-15  attended  medical  lec- 
tures in  New  York  City ;  but  he  had  hardly  begun  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  when  an  awakening  of  his  religious 
nature  led  him  to  abandon  medicine  and  prepare  himself  for 
the  Christian  ministry.  He  entered  Andover  Seminary  in  the 
autumn  of  1816,  and  spent  one  year  in  rigorous  and  enthu- 
siastic labor  under  that  profound  scholar  and  master  teacher, 
Moses  Stuart,  devoting  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  in  the  original.  Poverty  compelled  him, 
at  the  end  of  this  year,  to  leave  the  seminary  and  become 
a  tutor  in  his  Alma  Mater,  where  he  served  for  four  years, 
teaching  a  wide  range  of  subjects  and  learning  much  from 
intimacy  with  the  rugged  and  sagacious  President  Nott.  In 
1821  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Boston. 
Here  he  struggled  for  two  years  against  many  obstacles, 
without  much  apparent  success ;  but  the  hard  work  made 
him  grow,  and  the  solid  intellect  and  masculine  strength 
of  the  man  slowly  gained  him  recognition  among  the  dis- 
cerning few.  One  stormy  evening  in  the  autumn  of  1823 
he  preached  the  annual  sermon  before  the  Baptist  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  of  Boston.  No  great  effect  was  produced 
at  the  time;  but  when  "The  Moral  Dignity  of  the  Mis- 

[    205    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

sionary  Enterprize"  was  published,  its  strength  of  style, 
breadth  of  view,  and  heroic  note  soon  made  it  famous.  Fol- 
lowed as  it  was,  a  year  and  a  half  later,  by  two  powerful  dis- 
courses on  "The  Duties  of  an  American  Citizen,"  it  gave 
its  author  a  commanding  position  in  the  Baptist  denomi- 
nation and  considerable  reputation  in  a  wider  field.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1825,  he  was  made  a  fellow  of  Brown  University ; 
and  when  President  Messer  resigned,  the  minds  of  many 
naturally  turned  to  Francis  Wayland  as  his  successor.  He 
had  just  left  his  pastorate  and  returned  to  Union  College  as 
professor  of  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy;  but  being 
elected  head  of  Brown  University  on  December  13,  1826, 
he  accepted,  and  assumed  his  new  duties  at  the  beginning 
of  the  next  term,  in  February,  1827. 

President  Wayland 's  first  work  was  to  tighten  the  reins 
of  moral  and  mental  discipline,  which  in  the  last  few  years 
had  been  somewhat  relaxed.  The  old  rule  requiring  the 
officers  of  instruction  to  visit  the  students'  rooms,  which 
had  been  omitted  in  the  Laws  of  1823,  was  revived  and 
made  more  strict  in  the  Laws  of  1827,  and  the  officers  were 
required  to  ' '  occupy  rooms  in  College,  during  the  hours  ap- 
propriated to  study . ' '  The  President  himself  set  the  exam- 
ple, and  could  regularly  be  found  hard  at  work  in  his  room 
in  Hope  College.  The  officers  were  required  to  make  daily 
reports  to  the  President  of  all  absences  and  other  violations 
of  the  laws  which  came  to  their  knowledge.  If  a  student's 
general  conduct  was  unsatisfactory,  the  laws  authorized  the 
President  to  inform  his  parents  and  '  'dismiss  him  without 
public  censure  or  disgrace." 

But  the  soul  of  the  new  moral  regimen  was  not  a  code  but 
a  man  —  intense,  fearless,  strong  in  intellect  and  will.  The 
influence  of  Wayland  upon  the  individual  student  and  upon 
groups  of  students  was  tremendous.  He  had  a  vast  amount 

C    206    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  primitive  power  in  him,  made  more  effecti\e  by  passion, 
wit,  and  a  gift  of  trencliant  speecli.  All  who  knew  him  agree 
that  his  books  give  no  adequate  idea  of  his  immense  per- 
sonal force ;  but  Professor  George  I.  Chace,  his  pupil  in  the 
first  three  years  of  his  administration,  conveys  some  sense 
of  it  in  the  following  description  : 

Another  means  employed  bv  President  Wayland  for  awakening  im- 
pulse, and  coiTecting,  guiding,  and  elevating  public  sentiment  in  college, 
was  addresses  fi-om  the  platfonn  in  the  chajiel.  These  were  most  fre- 
quent and  most  characteristic,  in  the  earlier  daj's  of  his  presidenc}'.  .  .  . 
President  Wavland  was  at  that  time  at  the  very  culmination  of  his 
powers,  both  physical  and  intellectual.  His  massive  and  stalwart  fi'ame, 
not  yet  filled  and  rounded  by  the  accretions  of  later  \ears,  his  strongh' 
marked  features,  ha%ing  still  the  sharp  outlines  and  severe  grace  of  their 
first  chiselling,  his  peerless  eye,  sending  from  beneath  that  oljinpian 
brow  its  lordly  or  its  penetrating  glances,  he  seemed,  as  he  stood  on 
the  stage  in  that  old  chapel,  the  incarnation  of  majesty  and  power.  He 
was  raised  a  few  feet  above  his  audience,  and  so  near  to  them  that  those 
most  remote  could  see  the  play  of  eveiy  feature.  He  commenced  speak- 
ing. It  was  not  instruction;  it  was  not  argument;  it  was  not  exhoita- 
tion.  It  was  a  mixture  of  wit  and  humor,  of  ridicule,  sarcasm,  pathos 
and  fian,  of  passionate  remonstrance,  earnest  appeal  and  solemn  warn- 
ing, poured  forth  not  at  random,  but  with  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of 
emotion  to  which  Lord  Kames  himself  could  have  added  nothing.  The 
effect  was  indescribable.  No  Athenian  audience  ever  hung  more  tumult- 
uously  on  the  lips  of  the  divine  Demosthenes.  That  little  chapel  heaved 
and  swelled  with  the  intensity  of  its  pent-up  forces.  The  billows  of  pas- 
sion rose  and  fell  like  the  waves  of  a  tempestuous  sea.  .  .  .  At  length 
the  storm  spent  itself.  The  sky  cleared,  and  the  sun  shone  out  with  in- 
creased brightness.  The  ground  had  been  softened  and  fertilized,  and 
the  whole  air  purified. 

The  intellectual  tonic  which  the  neu'  president  administered 
was  equally  powerful.  The  laws  of  1803  and  1823  held  the 
juniors  to  only  two  recitations  a  day  after  the  spring  vaca- 
tion ;  the  seniors  to  only  two  a  day  until  April,  and  but  one 
a  day  thereafter.  The  new  laws  declared,  "There  shall  be 

[   207   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

three  recitations  in  every  Class  in  the  University  through- 
out the  year."  Instructors  and  pupils  both  had  come  to 
depend  unduly  upon  the  textbook.  "No  text  book  shall 
ever  be  brought  into  the  recitation  room,"  said  a  new  law, 
"except  at  the  recitation  of  the  Learned  Languages."  This 
Spartan  rule  put  teacher  and  taught  upon  their  mettle  to 
master  the  substance  of  the  lesson,  and  encouraged  origi- 
nal phrasing  and  free  discussion.  President  Wayland's  own 
statement  of  his  method  deserves  quoting : 

Our  practice  was,  in  all  recitations  from  text-books,  to  accustom  the 
student  to  make  out  the  analysis,  skeleton,  or  plan  of  the  lesson  to  be 
recited.  He  was  expected  to  commence,  and,  without  question  or  assist- 
ance, to  proceed  in  his  recitation  as  long  as  might  be  required.  The  next 
who  was  called  upon  took  up  the  passage  where  his  predecessor  left  it; 
and  thus  it  continued  (except  as  there  was  interruption  by  inquiry  or 
explanation)  until  the  close.  ...  It  was  also  customary  to  commence 
the  recitation  by  calling  on  some  one  to  give  the  entire  analysis  of  the 
lesson.  .  .  .Accompanying  the  habit  of  analyzing  every  lesson,  and  mak- 
ing this  analysis  a  distinct  feature  of  the  recitation,  was  that  of  frequent 
review.  It  was  my  custom  in  the  class-room  to  require,  first  of  all,  the 
lesson  of  the  previous  day,  whether  that  consisted  of  a  lecture  or  a  por- 
tion of  a  text-book.  This  fixed  ever)'  lesson  in  the  mind  of  the  pupil. 
As  we  advanced,  I  would  begin  the  book,  and  call  for  the  analysis  of 
several  portions  of  what  we  had  gone  over.  When  we  had  overtaken 
our  advance,  we  commenced  anew  from  the  beginning.  In  this  man- 
ner we  were  enabled  to  review  the  whole  book  frequently  during  the 
course  of  a  single  term,  thus  strengthening  materially  the  habit  of 
generalization. 

To-day  we  should  think  that  most  of  the  time  thus  spent 
in  reviewing  and  re-reviewing  one  textbook  might  more 
profitably  have  been  given  to  wide  reading  or  to  special  re- 
search. The  famous ' '  analysis, ' '  furthermore,  was  but  mak- 
ing an  outline  of  matter  already  arranged,  and  demanded  far 
less  mental  effort  than  organizing  crude  material  for  argu- 
ment or  debate  ;  but  at  that  time,  in  comparison  with  com- 

c  208 : 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

mon  methods,  it  doubtless  had  great  merit.  Still  more  valu- 
able, however,  was  the  President's  habit  of"  encouraging  free 
discussion  :  "  I  also  caused  it  to  be  understood  that  our  sub- 
ject was  one  in  which  they  and  I  were  equally  interested. 
Therefore  I  not  only  allowed,  but  encouraged,  my  pupils 
to  ask  questions  with  reference  to  any  portion  of  the  lesson 
recited,  or  of  the  lecture  delivered."  Wayland  was  too 
experienced  a  teacher  not  to  know  that  the  method  might 
be  abused . ' '  This,  however, ' '  he  writes, ' '  may  be  easily  pre- 
vented by  an  instructor.  It  is  only  necessary  to  answer  a 
fool  according  to  his  folly,  in  order  to  make  the  experiment 
too  dangerous  to  be  repeated. ' '  A  sample  of  this  kind  of  an- 
swer is  given  by  his  biographers :  "  At  another  time  he  was 
lecturing  on  the  weight  of  evidence  furnished  bv  human 
testimon}' .  He  was  illustrating  its  authority  and  sufficiency 
even  for  the  establishment  of  miracles.  A  member  of  the 
class,  not  entirely  satisfied  of  the  correctness  of  the  teach- 
ing, suggested  a  practical  application  of  the  doctrine :  '  What 
would  you  say.  Dr.  Wayland,  if  I  stated,  that,  as  I  was 
coming  up  College  Street,  I  saw  the  lamp-post  at  the  corner 
dance?  '  'I  should  ask  you  where  you  had  been,  my  son,' 
was  the  quiet  reply  in  the  instructor's  gravest  manner. ' '  But 
sensible  and  honest  discussion  he  always  welcomed.  "I 
rarely  passed  through  such  a  discussion,"  he  says,"  with- 
out great  advantage.  Sometimes  I  was  convinced  that  I  had 
been  in  error.  ...  It  not  unfrequently  happened  that  Avhen 
the  subject  under  consideration  was  especially  interesting  or 
important,  two  or  three  days  were  consumed  upon  a  single 
lesson . ' ' 

But  Wayland's  stimulating  effect  upon  his  pupils  came 
primarily,  not  from  any  particular  method  in  the  class-room, 
but  from  his  personal  resources.  From  the  first  he  supple- 
mented the  textbooks  by  extempore  talks ;  and  he  soon  be- 

[   209   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

gan  to  elaborate  some  points  by  formal  lectures,  which  finally 
grew  into  the  books  that  made  him  famous.  The  Hon.  John 
H.  Clifford,  a  member  of  the  first  class  that  Way  land  in- 
structed, says:  "It  was  quickly  perceived  by  us  that  he 
was,  in  truth,  the  '  master,'  and  far  in  advance  of  the  books 
from  which  he  taught.  This  was  one  great  source  of  the  new 
spirit  with  which  he  inspired  his  pupils,  namely,  that  he 
was  thoroughly  the  master  of  his  subject,  and  not  a  mere  con- 
duit of  another  man's  thoughts."  His  method  as  a  lecturer 
and  his  effect  on  the  students,  a  few  years  later,  are  vividly 
described  by  Professor  Silas  Bailey,  of  the  class  of  1834: 

At  the  time  to  which  I  refer,  his  recitation-room  was  on  the  first  floor 
of  the  middle  hall  of  Hope  College,  and  in  the  rear  of  his  own  study. 
It  had  been  a  dormitoiy,  but  was  afterwards  ftiraished  with  benches, 
and  what  served  for  writing-desks  —  narrow  pine  boards  upheld  by 
pine  uprights.  .  .  .  The  entire  furniture  of  the  room  did  not  exceed 
ten  dollars  in  value.  Entering  by  a  door  connecting  the  recitation-room 
with  his  study,  he  was  in  his  chair  at  the  moment,  and  he  required  the 
same  promptness  of  each  pupil.  .  .  .  All  being  present,  and  subsiding 
instantly  into  silence,  the  work  began.  He  had  no  table,  but  sat  with  his 
manuscript  for  the  lecture  of  the  hour  resting  upon  his  knee.  At  this 
period  none  of  his  text-books  had  been  published.  The  members  of  the 
class,  in  succession,  recited  the  lecture  of  the  preceding  day,  or  perhaps 
one  still  farther  back  in  the  series.  .  .  .  This  exercise  concluded,  there 
was  a  rustling  all  around  the  room;  papers  were  adjusted,  and  prepara- 
tion made  for  writing.  The  president's  manuscript  was  opened,  and  the 
well-known  a-hem  was  the  signal  for  all  to  be  ready,  and  for  the  work 
of  the  hour  to  begin.  .  .  .  These  lectures  seemed  to  us  more  wonderftil 
than  anything  we  had  ever  heard.  They  can-ied  all  the  conviction  of  a 
demonstration.  To  have  believed  otherwise  would  have  seemed  absurd. 
Some  of  us  at  a  later  day  found  reason  to  modify  the  views  then  re- 
ceived and  accepted.  But  at  the  time  the  conviction  was  complete.  His 
definitions  were  clear,  simple,  and  easily  remembered.  His  analysis  of 
any  obscure  but  important  part  was  exhaustive,  omitting  no  essential 
element.  His  progress  through  either  of  his  fa\^orite  sciences  was  that 
of  a  prince  through  his  own  dominions.  At  intervals,  not  regular  in 

[    210    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

their  occurrence,  yet  sure  to  occur  somewhere,  he  siLsjjended  his  read- 
ing for  a  few  minutes,  and,  waiting  for  a  short  time,  until  each  member 
of  the  class  could  complete  his  notes  and  give  his  attention,  he  would 
relate  some  incident  or  anecdote  sti^ikingh'  illustrating  the  point  last 
made.  In  this  department  he  was  alwa\s  most  happ\'.  The  confirma- 
tion imparted  to  the  argument  was  often  unexpected,  and  even  irresist- 
ible. These  anecdotes  were  drawn  fi-om  anA'som-ce  tliat  offered  the  rich- 
est supply ;  from  history,  from  romance,  from  poetr\',  fiom  common, 
unrecorded,  every-day  life.  Often  they  were  mirthftil,  sometimes  ludi- 
crous. Frequently  statistics  would  be  given,  conclusively  ^erifA-ing  the 
position  which  had  been  assumed.  .  .  .  Whether  in  these  exercises 
Dr.  Way  land  stirred  up  the  intellect  of  his  pupils,  it  was  not  difficult 
even  for  a  stranger  to  determine.  As  they  issued  from  the  lecture-room, 
and  went  by  twos  and  threes  to  their  own  apartments,  the  subjects 
which  had  just  been  discussed  became  the  theme  of  most  earnest  con- 
versation. .  .  .  His  manner  was  simple  and  childlike.  There  was  no 
indication  of  special  concern  that  others  should  assent  to  his  views. 
Yet  the  mind  that  was  not  quickened  by  contact  with  his,  that  did  not 
gird  itself  for  more  strenuous  and  ele\'ated  endeavors  under  the  inspi- 
ration of  his  presence  and  teachings,  must  have  been  hopelessly  dull. 
The  recitation-room  was  his  empire,  and  he  reigned  with  imperial 
dignity. 

The  ideal  which  the  President  so  rigorously  followed  him- 
self he  expected  his  colleagues  to  follow  with  equal  rigor. 
His  conception  of  college  life  was  that  of  the  academic  fam- 
ily. He  wished  to  establish  close  personal  relations  beween 
officers  and  students  and  thereby  secure  strict  though  kindly 
supervision  over  the  latter's  mental  and  moral  life.  What, 
then,  should  be  done  with  the  non-resident  professors  in  the 
Medical  School  and  in  the  departments  of  oratory  and  nat- 
ural history?  One  plan  might  have  been  to  let  them  remain, 
and  rely  on  the  rest  of  the  Faculty  to  do  the  work  of  super- 
vision. The  advantages  of  such  a  plan,  combining  academic 
drill  with  invigorating  breezes  from  the  outside  Morld  of 
public  and  professional  life,  were  possibly  not  appreciated 

C    211     ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

by  President  Wayland  ;  it  probably  seemed  to  him  that  the 
non-resident  professors  were  a  part,  if  not  a  cause,  of  the 
lax  discipline  which  he  sought  to  cure.  Another  reason  for 
dismissing  them  is  given  in  his  ' '  Reminiscences  "  :  "  The 
regular  officers  were  competent  to  perform  all  the  required 
duties,  and  by  thus  dispensing  with  outside  services,  they 
found  their  means  of  subsistence  materially  increased." 
Accordingly,  on  March  15,  1827,  the  Corporation  passed 
the  following  vote : 

Whereas  it  is  deemed  essential  to  an  efficient  course  of  instruction, 
and  to  the  administi-ation  of  discipline,  in  this  University,  that  all  its 
officers  be  actual  residents  within  the  walls  of  the  Colleges,  therefore 
Resolved,  That  no  salary  or  other  compensation  be  paid  to  any  Pro- 
fessor, Tutor,  or  other  Officer,  who  shall  not,  dui'ing  the  whole  of  each 
and  every  term,  occupy  a  room  in  one  of  the  Colleges  (to  be  designated 
by  the  President)  and  assiduously  devote  himself  to  the  preservation 
of  order,  and  the  instruction  of  the  students,  or  the  performance  of  such 
other  duty  as  may  belong  to  his  station. 

Copies  of  this  vote  were  sent  to  the  non-resident  professors. 
Their  names  stood  in  the  catalogue  of  the  next  year  without 
change,  but  in  1828-29  were  starred,  and  a  foot-note  said, 
"The  gentlemen  to  whose  names  the  asterisk  is  prefixed, 
are  not  of  the  immediate  government ;  and  do  not,  at  pres- 
ent, give  any  instruction  in  the  University."  This  prema- 
ture promotion  to  the  ranks  of  the  stelligeri  was  doubtless 
annoying,  and  doubtless  was  meant  to  be.  Dr.  Wheaton 
withdrew  before  the  next  catalogue  appeared.  Dr.  Parsons 
the  year  after ;  and  in  1832-33,  by  vote  of  the  Faculty,  all 
the  names  were  dropped  except  that  of  Professor  Bowen, 
who  was  librarian.  Thus  was  the  Medical  School  in  Brown 
University  killed  by  a  president  who  had  been  trained  for 
the  profession  of  medicine. 

Radical  changes  like  these  could  not  be  made  abruptly 

[    212    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

without  arousing  opposition.  Professor  Chace,  of  the  class 
of  1830,  gives  some  amusing  details  of  undergraduate  dis- 
approval : 

Indignant  protests  were  made  against  the  innovations.  .  .  .  One  of  the 
mildest  of  these  modes  of  expressing  public  sentiment,  was  delinea- 
tion on  the  walls  of  the  halls,  and  the  lecture  rooms  when  these  could  be 
entered.  I  recall  a  spirited  sketch  executed  by  a  class-mate,  which  rep- 
resented ver}^  well  the  prevailing  current  of  opinion  and  criticism.  It 
comprised  two  figures.  Dr.  Messer,  seated  in  his  old  chaise,  with  reins 
fallen,  and  whip  lost,  Wiis  jogging  leisurely  on.  Directly  before  him  and 
in  clear  view,  lay  the  gulf  of  perdition.  Near  by  was  Dr.  Wayland,  in 
a  buggv  of  the  newest  fashion,  harnessed  to  an  animal  on  whose  build 
and  muscle  two-fortv  was  plainly  written.  He  was  headed  in  the  same 
direction,  and  with  taut  rein  and  knitted  brow  and  kindling  eye,  was 
pressing  with  all  his  might  forward.  But  the  students  soon  learned 
with  whom  the\-  had  to  deal.  .  .  .  The  greater  number  presenth' became 
reconciled  to  the  new  order  of  things,  and  forgot  their  angry^  feel- 
ings in  the  general  enthusiasm  for  study,  which  already  began  to  be 
awakened. 

The  opposition  outside  the  college  walls,  which  focused  upon 
the  policy  of  cutting  off  the  non-resident  professors,  lasted 
longer.  At  first  it  expressed  itself  chiefly  in  fears  that  the  stu- 
dents were  not  getting  proper  instruction  in  oratory,  being 
no  longer  taught  by  the  favorite  Rhode  Island  orator,  Tris- 
tamBurges.  But  in  the  Commencement  week  of  1830,  when 
it  seemed  likely  that  the  newly  established  chapter  of  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  would  kill  the  local  society  of  Federal  Adel- 
phi,  of  which  Burges  was  a  conspicuous  member,  the  pack 
broke  out  in  full  cry.  The  new  president's  personal  peculiar- 
ities were  attacked  in  a  communication  in  the  Rhode  Island 
American^  Statesman  ^  Providence  Gazette  of  September  7  : 
"Some  carped  at  his  Oxonion  Cap,  others  insisted  that  his 
side  pockets  were  not  the  proper  place  for  his  hands  ^^•hen 
engaged  in  the  public  services,  and  that  his  morsel  of  nar- 

C   213   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

cotic,  that  mark  which  distinguishes  man  from  all  other  ani- 
mals, should  not  have  been  ruminated  at  such  a  time."  Most 
of  the  attacks,  however,  were  directed  against  the  new  pol- 
icy of  the  college.  The  Frovide?ice  Journal  o^  September  10, 
1830,  said:  "We  have  understood  that  Mr.  Burges  ten- 
dered his  services  to  President  Wayland,  after  his  salary 
and  compensation  had  been  stopped  by  the  Corporation,  and 
that  he  was  told,  the  institution  did  not  require  them.  Of 
that  fact  certainly  the  President  ought  to  have  been  best  qual- 
ified to  judge;  the  public,  however,  entertained  a  different 
opinion.  .  .  .  The  vote  of  the  Corporation,  together  with 
Dr.  Wayland's  answer  to  Mr.  Burges,  have  deprived  the 
University  of  the  services  of  one  of  its  best  and  ablest  pro- 
fessors." The  Daily  Advertiser  o^  the  same  date,  regretting 
the  lost  lecturers,  said:  "In  these  classes  were  not  unfre- 
quently  mingled  citizens  of  the  town  ;  an  arrangement  cer- 
tainly not  calculated  to  injure  the  popularity  of  the  College 
beyond  its  walls,  or  to  limit  the  extension  of  knowledge. 
When  President  Wayland  took  the  chair,  Messrs.  Burges 
and  D' Wolf  w^ere  probably  the  most  popular  persons,  con- 
nected with  the  institution."  In  the  same  issue  is  a  long 
anonymous  communication  urging  that  another  university 
be  set  up  in  the  state,  to  furnish  a  broader  and  more  prac- 
tical education ;  the  plan  curiously  anticipates  most  of  the 
ideas  which  Dr.  Wayland  advocated  and  partly  put  into 
effect  twenty  years  later.  A  beginning  should  be  made  by 
the  establishment  of  classical,  medical,  and  chemical  lec- 
tures, a  workshop  and  farm,  and  by  the  application  of 
chemical  and  mathematical  science  to  mechanics  and  agri- 
culture. "We  have  at  hand  the  very  persons,  required  for 
such  an  undertaking,  in  the  learned  and  worthy  professors 
who  have  been  reformed  out  of  their  academic  employment 
by  the  new  rules  of  the  College. ' '  In  the  Daily  Advertiser  of 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

September 20, "  E  PluribusUnum  "  complains  that  "young 
men,  instead  of  being  taught  eloquence,  (that  source  of  power 
and  influence  in  this  Republic)  and  induced  to  become  am- 
bitious of  emulating  the  excellence  of  ancient  and  modern 
orators,  have  been  kept  down  to  the  cool  calculations  of  Eu- 
clid, the  demonstrations  of  conic  sections,  and  the  differen- 
tial and  integral  Calculus ! ' '  Finally, ' '  A  True  Friend  to  the 
College,"  in  an  issue  of  the  same  paper  five  days  later,  lets 
a  political  cat  out  of  the  bag  ;  after  describing  various  evils 
in  the  present  regime,  he  continues  :  "  Some  of  the  friends 
of  the  College  .  .  .  see  all  this,  and  yet  it  all  does  not  affect 
them  so  painfully  as  one  other  fact  w  hich  can  no  longer 
be  kept  in  the  dark  —  viz :  that  the  College  is  becoming  a 
nursery  of  anti-American  doctrines^  a  mill  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  young  theorists,  ready  to  meet  the  world  in  arms, 
and  fight  for  the  principles  of  free  trade ! ' ' 

But  the  President  held  to  his  course  in  silence,  effecting 
various  changes  besides  those  already  mentioned.  The  en- 
trance requirements  were  somewhat  increased:  in  1827 
Jacob's  Gi'eek  Reader  and  Caesar  were  added,  and  in  both 
Latin  and  Greek  emphasis  was  laid  upon  a  knowledge  of 
the  grammar  ;  ancient  and  modern  geography  and  English 
grammar  were  also  mentioned  as  supplementary  subjects; 
in  1828  algebra  to  quadratics  was  added.  After  this  there 
was  no  material  change,  except  that  in  1843  the  New  Tes- 
tament (or  the  option  in  Xenophon  which  had  been  allowed 
for  some  years)  was  struck  out  and  nothing  put  in  its  place. 
Several  changes  were  made  in  the  curriculum  in  1827.  The 
review  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  required  for  admission  was 
omitted.  Algebra  was  put  into  the  first  year,  and  studied 
three  terms  instead  of  one  ;  trigonometry,  conic  sections,  and 
calculus  were  added.  A  term  in  astronomy  was  introduced. 
The  range  in  the  classics  was  widened  by  the  introduction 

C   215   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  Xenophon's  Ajiabasis^  Herodotus,  Thucydides,  Plato, 
Aristotle,  Euripides,  Tacitus,  JuAenal,  and  Perseus,  Two 
terms  of  French  were  offered,  with  an  option  of  calculus  in 
one  term  and  Hebrew  in  the  other  ;  but  French  was  dropped 
from  1831  to  1842,  and  Hebrew  after  1834.  A  two-term 
course  in  political  economy,  taught  by  the  President,  was 
added  in  1828.  In  the  catalogue  of  1827-28  is  the  signifi- 
cant statement,  "Lectures  are  delivered  upon  the  various 
branches  of  study,  in  connexion  with  the  regular  Recita- 
tions. ' '  Three  years  later  this  is  expanded  into  an  announce- 
ment that ' '  Lectures  are  delivered,  during  the  Course  of  In- 
struction, on  the  following  branches,  viz.  Intellectual  and 
Moral  Philosophy  ;  Political  Economy  ;  Rhetoric ;  Roman 
Antiquities  —  Greek  and  Roman  Literature;  Natural  Phi- 
losophy ;  Chemistry ;  Physiology. ' ' 

The  curriculum  as  announced  in  the  catalogue  of  1842- 
43  is  fairly  representative  of  the  whole  period  from  1827  to 
1850: 

Freshman  Year 
First  Tenn.  Plane  geometry;  Lia^^';  Latin  grammar  reviewed;  ab- 
stract of  Roman  history';  Xenophon's  Cyropaedia;  Greek  grammar 
reviewed. 

Second  Term.  Solid  geometry;  algebra;  Liv\';  abstract  of  Roinan 
history;  exercises  in  writing  Latin;  Xenophon's  Memorabilia;  exer- 
cises in  writing  Greek. 

Tlurd  Term.  Algebra;  Tacitus;  exercises  in  writing  Latin;  the 
Odyssey;  exercises  in  writing  Greek. 

Sophomore  Year 
First  Term.  Algebra;  plane  and  spherical  trigonometry;  Horace; 
exercises  in  writing  Latin;  the  Iliad;  exercises  in  writing  Greek. 

Second  Term.  Mensuration,  surveying,  navigation,  nautical  astron- 
omy; the  Iliad;  exercises  in  writing  Greek;  Horace;  rhetoric. 

Third  T^/v?i.  Analytical  geometry;  de  Amicitia  and  de  Senectiite; 
exercises  in  writing  Latin;  rhetoric;  Euripides. 

C    216   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Junior  Year 
First  Term.  Mechanics;  animal  physiology;  logic;  modern  languages. 

Second  Term.  Pneumatics  and  hydrostatics;  chemistry;  Sopiiocltrs 
or  ^schylus;  modem  languages. 

Tli'ird  Term.  Optics;  chemistiy;  vegetable  physiolog\-;  Juvenal; 
modern  languages. 

Senior  Year 
First  Term.  Intellectual  philosophy;   astronomy;  ./Eschines  or  De- 
mosthenes; modem  languages. 

Second  Term.  Moral  philosophy;   Butler's  Analog-i/  and  Pale\''s 
Evidences;  rhetoric;  modem  languages. 

Third  Teryyi.  Political  economv;  evidences  of  Christianity;  geol- 
ogv;  American  constitution;  modern  languages. 

The  quality  of  work  done  by  those  who  went  through  this 
course  of  study  cannot  be  determined  with  much  precision, 
but  there  are  fragmentary  data  which  throw  some  light  upon 
it.  In  the  first  place,  proficiency  in  college  studies  could  hardly 
have  been  expected  of  young  men  so  ill  prepared  for  them 
as  were  some  of  those  admitted  to  the  university.  President 
Wayland,  in  a  special  report  to  the  fellows  in  1841,  said 
of  the  study  of  rhetoric  :  "  This  branch  of  learning  would 
be  materially  improved  if  the  requirements  for  entrance  .  .  . 
were  more  rigidly  enforced.  Students  frequently  enter  col- 
lege almost  wholly^  unacquainted  with  English  grammar 
and  unable  to  write  a  tolerably  legible  hand."  A  committee 
appointed  by  the  fellows,  in  1842,  to  consider  changes  in  the 
conduct  of  the  institution,  reported  that  "students  are  fre- 
quently admitted  very  ignorant  of  the  grammars  and  are 
able  in  general  to  read  but  a  very  small  portion  of  Latin  & 
Greek  at  a  lesson . "  "  The  writing  of  Latin , ' '  they  add ,  "  is 
not  required  at  all  of  the  candidate  for  entrance.  .  .  .  In- 
struction in  the  University  is  too  much  confined  to  the  mere 
rendering  of  the  ancient  languages  into  English  and  .  .  . 

[   217   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

not  sufficient  attention  is  paid  to  elegance  of  rendering,  and 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  taste  of  the  pupil."  That  laxity  in 
entrance  examinations  was  rather  general  among  the  New 
Englandcolleges  appears  from  a  communication  sent  to  them 
by  a  committee  representing  a  meeting  of  classical  teachers 
held  in  Boston  on  May  28, 1844 ;  this  calls  for  more  uniform 
and  rigid  requirements,  saying :  "All  the  colleges,  at  times, 
receive  Students  with  much  less  than  the  required  amount 
of  preparation ;  in  some  cases  even  less  than  half  the  usual 
preparatory  course  is  admitted  as  sufficient,  while  in  others 
nearly  the  whole  is  required." 

Dr.  Wayland  was  strongly  impressed,  on  a  visit  to  Eng- 
land in  1840-41,  with  the  enormous  stimulus  applied  to 
school  and  university  students  by  means  of  prizes,  scholar- 
ships, fellowships,  and  other  rewards  for  high  attainments; 
and  on  his  return  he  devised  a  system  of  prizes  for  under- 
graduates in  Brown  University.  In  the  catalogue  of  1842- 
43  premiums  to  the  total  value  of  $250  were  announced ; 
and  the  next  year  the  system  was  extended.  President  Way- 
land  had  founded  the  President's  Premiums  for  excellence 
in  preparatory  studies,  by  the  gift  of  $1000,  which  pro- 
vided prizes  of  $15  and  $10,  to  be  awarded  after  a  special 
examination,  in  both  Latin  and  Greek.  University  Premi- 
ums, derived  from  one  of  Nicholas  Brown's  bequests,  were 
offered  as  follows:  freshman  premiums  of  $15  and  $10,  in 
Greek,  Latin, and  mathematics;  sophomorepremiumsof  like 
amounts  in  the  same  subjects,  and  a  premium  of  $15  for 
English  composition;  junior  premiums  of  $17  and  $15  in 
mechanics,  physical  science,  and  English  composition,  and 
a  premium  of  $17  in  either  Greek  or  Latin  ;  senior  premiums 
of  $20  each  in  astronomy,  history,  physical  science,  and  in 
either  Greek  or  Latin.  The  awards  in  astronomy,  mathe- 
matics, and  mechanics  were  to  be  determined  by  exami- 

[   218   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVB:RSITY 

nation  ;  in  the  other  subjects,  by  essays.  T\\o  premiums  of 
$25  each,  estabHshed  the  year  before  by  the  Re\-.  Henry 
Jackson,  were  also  offered  to  seniors  for  essays  in  philosophy 
and  political  economy.  The  total  value  of  these  prizes  w  as 
$458. 

The  results  did  not  speak  very  well  for  the  intellectual 
ambition  of  the  students,  however  thoroughly  they  may  ha\e 
done  their  routine  work  for  the  class-room.  Very  few  entered 
the  contests,  especially  after  the  freshman  year ;  two  or  three 
was  the  usual  number,  and  sometimes  there  were  fewer  com- 
petitors than  prizes.  The  competition  for  the  Jackson  pre- 
miums was  so  slight  that  the  donor  became  dissatisfied  and 
discontinued  them  after  1850.  The  quality  of  the  work  done 
by  the  prize  men  was  not  remarkably  good  according  to  mod- 
ern standards.  The  essays  on  literary,  historical,  economic, 
and  philosophical  subjects  show  industry  and  considerable 
maturity  of  style,  but  little  originality  or  independent  re- 
search. The  essays  in  Latin,  according  to  the  present  pro- 
fessor of  that  subject,  are  full  of  English  idioms  set  over  into 
Latin  words,  and  are  on  the  whole  inferior  to  Mhat  would 
now  be  expected  in  a  prize  contest. ' '  The  essays  in  Greek, ' ' 
writes  a  professor  in  the  Greek  department,  "are  not  start- 
lingly  original,  and  there  are  a  good  many  cases  of  the  trans- 
fer of  English  locutions  to  a  foreign  style  ;  but  there  are  few 
things  wrong,  and  the  physical  perfection  of  the  Greek  hand- 
writing itself  reflects  a  careful,  scholarly  attitude  that  is  not 
unimportant."  Of  the  examination  papers  in  mathematical 
subjects  a  member  of  that  department  says  : ' '  The  dexterity 
required  in  the  handling  of  algebraic  and  trigonometric  ex- 
pressions is  very  slight.  In  all  the  papers,  solution  of  prob- 
lems rather  than  development  of  theory  is  called  for.  The 
questions  seem  to  indicate  a  good  grounding  in  fundamen- 
tal principles  of  that  day,  but  a  decidedly  moderate  standard 

C   219  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

as  to  the  amount  of  work  covered  in  a  given  year.  The  stand- 
ards in  pure  mathematics  are  far  higher  now  ;  many  of  the 
premium  questions  of  the  40's  could  now  be  answered  by 
matriculants." 

Brown  University  owes  a  great  debt  to  President  Way- 
land  for  his  wise  and  energetic  efforts  to  build  up  the  library. 
It  had  grown  to  considerable  size  by  occasional  gifts  of 
books  and  money;  but  it  had  no  permanent  fund  or  regu- 
lar income,  and  there  was  no  settled  policy  regarding  it.  In 
the  President's  report  to  the  Corporation  "in  behalf  of  the 
Faculty,"  on  September  2,  1829,  the  inadequacy  of  such  a 
' '  miscellaneous  collection ' '  was  pointed  out,  and  two  sources 
of  income  for  the  purchase  of  books  were  suggested — the 
students'  library  fees,  and  the  interest  of  a  permanent  library 
fund,  to  be  raised  by  subscription.  The  Corporation  at  once 
voted  that  $200  of  the  money  received  from  library  fees  be 
appropriated  annually  for  buying  books ;  and  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Corporation  on  January 
10,  1831,  it  was  resolved,  "That  immediate  measures  be 
taken  to  raise  by  subscription,  the  sum  oi  twenty-Jive  thou- 
sand dollars^  to  be  appropriated  to  the  purchase  of  books  for 
the  Library  and  apparatus  for  the  philosophical  and  chemi- 
cal departments  of  Brown  University."  President  Way  land 
and  Thomas  P.  Ives  were  made  a  committee  to  carry  the 
resolution  into  effect.  The  proposal  M^as  magnificent,  almost 
to  audacity,  for  no  such  sum  had  ever  been  raised  by  sub- 
scription in  the  interests  of  education  in  Rhode  Island.  But  a 
new  day  was  dawning.  Nicholas  Brown  promptly  subscribed 
$10,000;  Thomas  P.  Ives  and  John  Bowen  gave  $1000 
each ;  and  many  other  subscriptions,  varying  from  $300 
to  $10,  were  secured,  chiefly  by  the  exertions  of  President 
Wayland  and  Professor  Caswell.  The  sum  of  $19,437.50 
was  raised;  it  was  put  at  interest  until  it  had  grown  to 

I    220    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

$25,000,  when  it  was  invested  as  a  permanent  fund,  the 
income  from  which,  beginning  in  1839,  was  devoted  to  the 
purchase  of  books  and  apparatus.  Provision  had  already  been 
made  to  secure  a  consistent  policy  in  directing  the  growth 
of  the  library.  At  the  September  meeting  of  the  Corporation 
in  1834,  the  committee  on  the  library,  anticipating  the  time 
when  "  large  additions  will  be  made  every  year  to  the  num- 
ber of  Books,"  urged  that  it  was  "of  great  importance  that 
these  books  should  be  selected  in  conformity  with  some 
approved  plan,  so  that  the  Library  may  present  a  view  of 
the  progress  &  attainments  of  the  human  mind."  The  re- 
port continues:  "The  number  of  visitors  which  may  here- 
after be  attracted  to  the  Library,  as  v\  ell  as  the  convenience 
of  the  officers  of  instruction  suggests  the  importance  of  have- 
ing  the  Library  at  all  times  accessible  to  the  faculty  h.  to 
strangers.  They  therefore  recommend  that  the  Librarian  be 
required  to  occupy  a  room  in  the  College  buildings."  The 
Corporation  appointed  a  committee,  including  the  Presi- 
ident,  to  carry  out  these  recommendations  ;  and  voted  that, 
after  the  library  had  been  removed  to  the  new  building, 
the  librarian  must  attend  in  the  library  room  from  10  to  12 
o'clock  every  week  day  in  term  time.  In  1837  it  was  voted 
that  $500  from  the  income  of  the  library  fund  be  spent  an- 
nually for  books,  under  the  direction  of  a  joint  committee  of 
the  Corporation  and  Faculty.  Mr.  Charles  C.  Je^ett,  of  the 
class  of  1835,  was  appointed  librarian  in  1842, also  holding 
the  professorship  of  modern  languages  after  the  first  year.  A 
catalogue  prepared  by  him  was  published  in  1 843 ;  it  showed 
that  the  library  contained  10,235  volumes.  Mr.  Jewett  be- 
came the  librarian  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  1848, 
and  from  1858  till  his  death  in  1868  was  librarian  of  the 
Boston  Public  Library.  He  was  succeeded  at  Bro^n  Uni- 
versity by  Reuben  A.  Guild,  of  the  class  of  1847. 

[    221     J 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

The  new  building  referred  to  above  was  Manning  Hall. 
The  time  had  come  when  it  was  imperative  that  the  library 
should  have  better  quarters,  for  its  room  in  University  Hall 
was,  in  President  Wayland's  words,  "crowded  to  excess, 
unsightly  and  inconvenient,  and  wholly  unsuited  for  the 
purpose  to  which,  from  necessity,  it  was  devoted. ' '  A  chapel 
was  also  much  needed .  Nicholas  Brown  met  both  needs  by 
erecting  Manning  Hall,  at  a  cost  of  $18,500.  The  build- 
ing, somewhat  in  the  style  of  a  Greek  temple,  was  named  at 
Mr.  Brown's  request  after  the  first  president,  and  was  dedi- 
cated on  February  4, 1835.  It  was  built  of  stone  and  covered 
with  cement.  The  lower  room,  sixty-eight  feet  in  length 
and  thirty-eight  in  width,  was  designed  for  the  library ;  the 
upper  room  was  the  chapel. 

It  was  doubtless  because  the  new  building  had  a  cement 
covering  that  University  Hall,  standing  next  to  it,  received 
a  similar  covering  at  this  time.  The  report  of  a  committee, 
on  June  14,  1834,  says:  "The  Building  seems  to  have  ar- 
rived at  that  State  of  decay  that  very  considerable  repair  is 
necessary  to  prevent  it  from  going  to  entire  destruction  — 
the  window  frames  must  be  taken  out,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  water  from  getting  in,  over  them,  the  bricks  should  be 
painted  or  covered  with  cement — the  mortar  has  come  out 
from  between  the  bricks,  &  many  of  the  bricks  are  much 
decayed."  A  bill  of  March  3, 1835,  shows  that  the  repairs 
cost  $4684. 

President  Way  land,  because  of  his  training,  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  teaching  of  natural  science.  His  influence 
doubtless  appears  in  the  vote  of  the  Corporation  on  Sep- 
tember 6, 1827,  when  a  committee  was  appointed  to  expend 
$500  in  instruments  and  apparatus  such  as  the  committee 
might  "judge  necessary  for  the  immediate  wants  of  the  Uni- 
versity." Soon  afterwards  a  set  of  apparatus  costing  about 

C    222    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

$3000  was  presented  to  the  college  by  Nicholas  Brown  and 
Thomas  P.  Ives ;  and  in  consequence  the  catalogue  of  1828- 
29  contained  the  following  statement:  "The  Philosophi- 
cal Apparatus  is  extensive  and  complete.  A  large  number 
of  Instruments,  constructed  on  the  most  approved  plans,  by 
distinguished  artists  in  London  and  Paris,  has  been  recently 
imported  at  individual  expense,  and  presented  to  the  Uni- 
versity. The  advantages  of  instruction  in  Natural  Philoso- 
phy, thus  presented,  it  is  believed,  are  equal  to  those  pos- 
sessed by  any  similar  institution  in  this  countr)^  "  Another 
need  of  the  scientific  departments  became  acute  in  1836, 
when  Professor  Chace  brought  back  from  a  tour  through 
the  West  a  valuable  collection  of  fossils  and  found  no  suit- 
able room  for  them.  "The  University  was  almost  destitute 
of  a  Chemical  laboratory,"  wrote  Wayland  in  1841,  "and 
the  lecture  rooms  for  the  Professors  of  Chemistry  and  Ex- 
perimental Science  were  small  and  inconvenient. "In  Sep- 
tember, 1836,  a  committee  of  the  Corporation  was  appointed 
"  to  devise  means  for  erecting  a  building  for  Lecture  rooms, 
and  rooms  for  the  reception  of  Geological  and  Physiologi- 
cal specimens. "By  1838  about  $2500  had  been  raised,  but 
there  the  movement  stayed.  Once  more  the  patron  of  the  uni- 
versity came  forward  with  a  generous  and  stimulating  offer, 
contained  in  the  following  letter  : 

Providence,  March  18.  1839 
Moses  Brown  Ives,  Esq 

Treasurer  of  Brown  University' 
Dear  sir, 

In  Common  with  a  number  of  the  friends 
of  Brown  University,  I  desire  the  Erection  of  a  suitable  Mansion 
House  for  the  President,  and  likewise  of  another  College  Edifice  for 
the  accomodation  of  the  Department  of  Natural  Philosoph\',  Chem- 
istry, Mineralogy,  Geology  and  Natural  Historj'. 

As  it  is  highly  important  that  these  Buildings,  so  necessar\'  to  the 

C    223    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

welfare  of  the  Institution,  should  be  Erected  without  delay,  I  hereby 
tender  to  the  acceptance  of  the  Corporation  Two  Lots  of  Land  on 
Waterman  Street,  as  a  Site  for  the  Presidents  House,  and  the  Lot  of 
Land,  called  the  Hopkins  Estate  on  George  Street,  as  a  Site  for  the 
College  Edifice, — and  I  moreover  pledge  myself  for  the  sum  of  Ten 
Thousand  Dollars,  viz  Seven  Thousand  Dollars  for  the  Presidents 
House,  &  Three  Thousand  Dollars  towards  the  Erection  of  the  Col- 
lege Edifice,  the  suitable  improvement  of  the  adjacent  grounds,  and 
the  increase  of  the  permanent  Means  of  Instruction  in  the  Departments 
of  Chemistry,  Mineralogy  h.c^  provided ^n  equal  amount  be  subscribed 
by  other  friends  of  the  University  before  the  1st:  day  of  May  next. 
I  am  with  aifectionate  Regards 

and  great  personal  Respect  to  all  the 

friends  &  patrons  of  the  University, 
Respectfially 

Nicho  Brown 

The  response  was  prompt.  Before  the  date  set  more  than 
the  needed  amount  had  been  subscribed;  and  "the  whole 
sum,"  according  to  Dr.  Wayland,  "with  the  exception  of 
about  six  hundred  dollars,  was  contributed  by  the  citizens 
of  Providence  and  its  vicinity. "The  appropriate  name  of 
' '  Rhode  Island  Hall ' '  was  given  to  the  new  building,  which 
was  dedicated  on  September  4,  1840;  it  was  made  of  stone, 
covered  with  cement,  and  cost  $11,250.  The  president's 
house,  standing  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Prospect  and 
College  Streets,  cost  $7000 ;  it  was  finished  in  season  for  the 
President  to  hold  his  reception  in  it  on  the  evening  of  Com- 
mencement in  1840.  The  old  president's  house,  according 
to  tradition,  was  moved  down  College  Street,  where  some  still 
identify  it  as  the  third  house  below  the  corner  of  Benefit 
Street,  on  the  north  side. 

At  this  time  also  "the  grounds  were  graded  and  adorned," 
to  quote  the  President  speaking  in  1841 ,  "and  the  surround- 
ing premises  placed  in  the  condition  in  which  we  now  behold 
them. "The "adornment"  consisted  partly  in  the  building 

[    224    ^ 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  a  new  fence  around  the  grounds  and  in  the  planting  of 
the  ehns  that  are  now  one  of  tlie  chief  glories  of  the  campus. 
The  gifts  in  connection  with  Rhode  Island  Hall  and  the 
president's  house,  and  the  gift  of  another  valuable  lot  on 
George  Street,  in  1840,  were  Mr.  Brown's  last  donations  to 
the  college  during  his  lifetime;  he  died  on  September  27, 
in  the  following  year.  Nicholas  Bro\\n  was  born  in  Pro\i- 
dence,  April  4,  1769,  the  son  of  Nicholas  Brown,  Senior.  At 
his  graduation  from  Rhode  Island  College  in  1786,  he  was 
less  than  eighteen  years  old  ;  and  ^\  hen  he  was  chosen  a  trus- 
tee of  the  college,  in  1791,  he  was  only  twenty-two.  He  served 
as  trustee  until  1825,  and  as  fellow  from  then  till  his  death  ; 
from  1796to  1825  hewas  also  treasurer.  After  the  death  of  his 
father,  in  1791,  he  and  his  brother-in-law,  Thomas  P.  Ives, 
formed  a  partnership  in  what  grew  to  be  one  of  the  largest 
mercantile  houses  in  New  England.  "Up  to  the  year  1836," 
wrote  Professor  Goddard,  "  \\hen  he  withdrew  almost  en- 
tirely from  all  concern  in  foreign  commerce,  no  man,  it  is 
believed,  possessed  so  extensive  and  accurate  a  knowledge 
of  the  commercial  marine  of  the  whole  country."  The  firm 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  developing  an  American  trade 
with  China  and  India,  and  after  the  beginning  of  the  cen- 
tury became  more  and  more  deeply  engaged  in  cotton  manu- 
factures in  Rhode  Island.  Of  Mr.  Brown  as  a  merchant  Dr. 
Wayland  said:  "His  disposition  was  ardent,  and  his  plans 
frequently  adventurous.  Yet  the  success  of  his  di^■ersified 
operations  sufficiently  testified  that  boldness  of  enterprise  may 
be  harmoniously  united  with  vigorous  and  deliberate  judg- 
ment. He  was  endowed  in  an  unusual  degree  with  that  qual- 
ity, which  I  know  not  how  better  to  express  than  by  the  term, 
largeness  of  mind.  A  plan  or  an  enterprise  was  attractive 
to  him,  other  things  being  equal,  in  proportion  to  its  ex- 
tensiveness."  Professor  Goddard  gives  this  discriminating 

C    225    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

account  of  his  mental  habits,  which  were  clearly  those  of 
a  man  of  action  :  "He  had  no  relish  for  general  reading,  or 
for  prolonged  conversation,  or  for  mixed  society.  On  paper, 
he  expressed  himself,  always  with  freedom  and  clearness, 
and  sometimes  with  force.  His  power  of  observation  was 
singularly  quick  and  searching ;  and  he  seemed  to  reach 
his  conclusions,  generally  sagacious,  without  the  aid  of  in- 
termediate processes,  or  without  being  able  to  communicate 
such  intermediate  processes  to  others." 

Mr.  Brown  took  a  broad  interest  in  life  outside  the  world 
of  business.  In  politics  he  w^as  first  a  staunch  Federalist  and 
then  a  Whig,  and  for  many  years  he  served  as  a  member 
of  the  state  legislature ;  his  last  political  act  was  to  cast 
his  vote,  as  presidential  elector,  for  President  Harrison.  He 
was  a  deeply  religious  man,  although  he  never  joined  any 
church  "in  consequence,"  says  Professor  Gammell,  "of 
certain  peculiar  views  which  Hngered  in  his  mind."  "I  do 
not  think,"  says  President  Wayland,  "that  there  was  any 
branch  of  human  knowledge  with  which  he  was  so  well 
acquainted  as  theology."  "His  heart,"  Wayland  writes, 
' '  was  the  abode  of  active  sympathy  for  every  form  of  human 
suffering.  He  not  unfrequently  visited  the  sick  in  their  own 
dwellings,  while  his  door  was  frequendy  thronged,  and  his 
steps  waylaid,  by  the  poor  and  unfortunate  of  every  age. 
I  think  I  do  not  at  all  overstate  the  fact,  when  I  assert,  that 
for  the  last  twenty-five  years,  whenever  any  person  among 
us,  in  almost  any  rank  of  society,  was  in  pecuniary  distress, 
the  first  person  to  \\hom  he  would  spontaneously  apply  for 
relief  was  Nicholas  Brown.  .  .  .  His  benevolence  was  fre- 
quently requited  by  ingratitude  ;  yet,  under  the  most  irritat- 
ing provocations,  he  was  never  known  to  indulge  in  the  lan- 
guage either  of  harshness  or  reproach.  He  seemed  always 
disposed  to  look  upon  human  nature  in  its  most  favorable 

[    226    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

aspects,  and  \\  hen  no  favorable  aspect  could  be  disco\ered, 
to  contemplate  the  spectacle  in  silence." 

Mr.  Brow  n's  public  benefactions  were  by  no  means  lim- 
ited to  the  institution  which  bears  his  name.  He  contrib- 
uted to  the  endowment  of  Columbian  College,  Waterville 
College,  and  Newton  Theological  Institution.  When  the 
Providence  Athenaeum  received  its  charter,  in  1836,  he 
united  with  Moses  B.  Ives  and  Robert  H.  Ives,  the  sons 
of  his  deceased  partner,  in  offering  to  the  library  its  present 
site  and  $10,000  toward  the  erection  of  a  building  and  the 
purchase  of  books.  In  his  will,  besides  many  bequests  for 
religious  and  educational  purposes,  he  left  $30,000  toward 
the  endowment  of  an  insane  asylum,  and  was  thus  the  ori- 
ginator of  a  movement  which  resulted  three  years  later  in 
the  foundation  of  Butler  Hospital.  Brown  Uni\ersity  was 
also  remembered  in  his  will,  receiving  $10,000  in  money, 
payable  in  ten  years,  the  income  for  ten  years  from  certain 
estates  worth  about  the  same  sum,  and  land  lying  between 
Thayer  and  Hope  Streets  and  valued  at  $42,500.  These  be- 
quests brought  up  his  total  gifts  to  the  university  to  nearly 
$159,000,  and  Professor  Gammell  estimated  that  his  entire 
benefactions  to  public  institutions  and  objects  amounted  to 
not  less  than  $211,500.  Even  more  significant  is  the  wis- 
dom shown  in  bestowing  his  gifts.  "He  seemed  habitually 
to  look  at  results,"  wTites  President  Wayland,  "and  fre- 
quently at  results  long  distant.  .  .  .  He  sought  not  so  much 
to  build  up,  as  to  lay  the  foundations." 

The  university  is  fortunate  in  having  a  good  likeness  of 
its  benefactor.  After  the  erection  of  Manning  Hall  the  Cor- 
poration renewed  their  request  to  Mr.  Brown  to  sit  for  his  pic- 
ture. He  consented  ;  and  the  familiar  portrait  now  hanging 
in  Sayles  Hall  was  painted  in  1836,  by  Chester  Harding, 
one  of  the  best  American  artists  of  the  day,  and  placed 

C    227    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  the  library.  What  President  Wayland  said  of  the  Hving 
face  may  be  applied  to  the  pictured  one  : ' '  The  leading  traits 
of  Mr.  Brown's  character  were,  I  think,  distinctly  revealed 
in  his  countenance.  In  his  ample  brow  and  well-developed 
forehead,  you  could  not  but  observe  the  marks  of  a  vigorous 
and  expansive  intellect ;  while  his  mouth  indicated  a  spirit 
tenderly  alive  to  human  suffering,  and  habitually  occupied 
in  the  contemplation  of  deeds  of  compassion." 

When  Mr.  Brown  resigned  the  treasurership,  in  1825, 
he  was  succeeded  by  Moses  B.  Ives,  who  retained  the  office 
throughout  President  Wayland's   term.  Chancellor  Gris- 
wold,  however,  retired  in  1828,  and  three  other  chancellors 
served  during  this  administration  —  the  Hon.  Samuel  W. 
Bridgham,  of  the  class  of  1794,  who  died  in  office  in  1840 ; 
the  Hon.  John  B.  Francis,  of  the  class  of  1808,  who  acted 
from  1841  to  1854  ;  andDr.  Samuel  B.  Tobey,  who  took  the 
chancellorship  in  President  Wayland's  last  year,  and  held 
it  through  the  administration  of  his  successor.  The  secre- 
taries of  the  Corporation  under  Dr.  Wayland  were  yet  more 
numerous,  including  Judge  Samuel  Eddy,  who  resigned  in 
1829,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nathan  B.  Crocker,  who  served  from 
1829  to  1837  and  from  1846  to  1853,  Judge  Theron  Met- 
calf,  who  served  from  1837  to  1843,  Professor  William  G. 
Goddard,  whose  term  was  still  shorter  (1843-46),  and  John 
Kingsbury,  who,  beginning  in  1853,  held  the  secretaryship 
under  four  presidents  until  his  death  in  1874.  Until  1844 
professors  of  the  college  were  eligible  for  membership  in 
the  Corporation,  and  several  actually  served  as  fellows;  in 
that  year  the  Corporation  voted  that  no  professor  of  the 
university  should  thereafter  hold  a  seat  in  the  Corporation, 
the  two  offices  being  deemed ' '  from  their  very  nature  "  to  be 
"incompatible." 

What  of  the  Faculty  and  students  in  these  years  during 

[    028    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

which  the  material  equipment  of  the  institution,  under  the 
hand  of  its  patron,  was  growing  so  fast? 

We  have  seen  what  happened  to  the  non-resident  pro- 
fessors. Of  the  three  resident  professors  when  President 
Wayland  came,  one.  Aha  Woods,  of  the  chair  of  mathe- 
matics and  natural  philosophy  since  1824,  resigned  in  1828, 
to  take  the  presidency  of  Transylvania  Uni\ersity  ;  he  was 
succeeded  by  Alexis  Caswell,  who  became  one  of  Dr.  Way- 
land's  staunchest  supporters  and  intimate  friends.  Professor 
Goddard,  of  the  department  of  moral  philosophy  and  meta- 
physics from  1825  to  1834,  when  he  became  professor  of 
belles-lettres,  resigned  in  1842  because  of  his  health;  his 
relations  with  the  President  were  peculiarly  close.  The  third 
professor,  Romeo  Elton,  a  scholarly  man  but  not  a  power- 
ful teacher,  served  as  professor  of  Greek  and  Latin  from 
1825  to  1843.  For  a  few  years  the  Faculty  consisted  of  the 
President,  three  professors,  two  tutors,  the  librarian  Mr. 
Bowen,  and  the  register  and  steward  Lemuel  H,  Elliott, 
who  served  from  1826  to  1864.  A  fourth  professor,  Solo- 
mon Peck,  who  taught  Latin,  and  a  third  tutor  were  added 
in  1832.  The  next  year  Professor  Peck  retired  ;  and  George 
L  Chace,  who  had  been  tutor  since  1831,  became  adjunct 
professor  of  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy.  In  1834 
the  President  was  formally  made  professor  of  moral  and  in- 
tellectual philosophy ;  Professor  Goddard  assumed  his  new 
title ;  and  Professor  Chace  took  the  chair  of  chemistry.  The 
next  year  the  classical  department  was  much  strengthened 
by  the  appointment  of  the  brilliant  Horatio  B.  Hackett  as  ad- 
junct professor  of  Latin  and  Greek,  who  became  professor 
of  Hebrew  and  classical  literature  for  the  years  1837-39; 
and  WilHam  Gammell,  tutor  since  1832,  was  made  assist- 
ant professor  of  belles-lettres.  The  Faculty  now  consisted 
of  ten  officers  of  instruction  —  the  President,  six  professors, 

[    229    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

and  three  tutors, — five  of  whom  were  recent  graduates 
of  Broun  University,  trained  by  the  methods  of  the  new 
regime.  This  was  about  its  numerical  strengtli  until  1842, 
M  hen  it  began  to  decline,  chiefly  by  a  reduction  in  the 
number  of  tutors. 

Three  of  the  young  men  whom  President  Wayland  gath- 
ered around  him  in  the  first  half  of  his  administration — 
Chace,  Gammell,  and  John  L.  Lincoln,  who  became  a  tutor 
in  1839  —  were  to  fill  large  places  in  the  history  of  the  uni- 
versity ;  from  the  first  they  brought  in  fresh  life,  and  did 
much  to  win  support  for  the  new  order  of  things.  Dr.  Way- 
land,  like  all  natural  leaders,  knew  how  to  pick  his  aides 
and  how  to  value  them.  Masterful  as  he  was,  he  did  not 
commit  the  folly  of  supposing  that  one  man  could  make  a 
college,  and  he  gave  his  colleagues  due  honor  and  influ- 
ence.^ Professor  Gammell,  writing  in  1867,  speaks  thus  of 
the  official  relations  of  the  President  and  the  Faculty : 

It  was  the  habit  of  Dr.  Wayland  to  consult  very  freely  with  members 
of  the  Faculty  respecting  every  measure  of  importance  relating  either 
to  the  internal  or  the  external  affairs  of  the  institution.  .  .  .  Until  that 
time  [l850]  I  do  not  recall  a  single  instance  in  which  the  nomination 
of  an  officer,  whether  professor  or  tutor,  was  made  to  the  corporation 
without  the  advice  of  the  Facult}',  or  in  which  any  measure  of  impor- 
tance that  concerned  the  interests  of  the  college  was  decided  upon 
without  their  sanction  and  cooperation.  .  .  .  He  encouraged  no  appeals 
from  professors  or  tutors  to  the  president.  No  fear  was  felt,  on  the  part 
of  either,  that  he  would  ever  seek  to  promote  his  own  popularit}^  or 
comfort  at  the  expense  of  that  of  his  associates.  .  .  .  Whenever  it  be- 
came necessary,  he  bore  unflinchingly  and  magnanimously  the  odium 
of  every  measure,  no  matter  what  was  its  origin,  which  the  good  of 
the  college  seemed  to  require. 

*  It  is  under  Wayland  that  the  records  of  the  Faculty  meetings  begin,  with 
a  meeting  on  May  7,  1829,  for  the  assignment  of  Commencement  parts;  but 
for  years  the  meetings  occurred  at  very  irregular  intenals. 

C  230  2 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Professor  Gammell  also  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the 
social  relations  between  the  President  and  the  members  of 
the  Faculty  : 

To  them  all,  I  may  sa}',  his  house  was  a  place  of  frequent  and  familiar 
resort,  although  his  relations  to  them  differed  with  different  persons  in 
their  degrees  of  intimacy.  To  the  ^■ounger  members  of  the  Faculty,  I 
remember,  he  was  particularh'  attenti\ e,  and  e\er  mindfiil  of  the  soli- 
tar)'  life  they  led,  residing,  as  they  did  at  that  time,  within  the  walls  of 
the  college.  In  those  eiirlier  da^•s  we  dined  with  him  almost  always  on 
Saturdays.  Veiy  often,  after  evening  meetings  of  the  Faculty,  ...  he 
would  invite  us  to  lemain  at  his  house, and  share  in  some  extemporized 
entertainment,  as  an  offset  to  the  weary  routine  of  college  affairs.  .  .  . 
His  familiar  friends,  and  especially  members  of  the  Faculty,  were  in  the 
habit  of  visiting  his  garden  very  frequently;  and  he  was  never  happier 
or  more  genial  than  when  narrating  passages  of  his  horticultural  ex- 
perience. ...  At  other  seasons  of  the  }'ear  he  was  exceedingly  fond  of 
walking  in  the  country,  always  seeking  companionship  on  such  occa- 
sions. The  evening  prajers  of  the  college,  until  they  were  abolished  in 
1850,  were  invariably  at  fiveo'clock.  On  thedismissal  of  the  students,  he 
would  very  commonly  summon  some  of  us  to  join  him  in  the  walk  to 
the  Seekonk  Ri\'er,  going  by  one  road  and  returning  by  the  other.  .  .  . 
This  ancient  road,  five  and  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago,  was  rural  and 
secluded,  fiill  of  attractive  scenery  of  meadow  and  grotto,  of  wooded 
hill  and  flowing  river,  and  pervaded  throughout  its  whole  extent  with 
the  tranquillity  always  so  grateful  to  reflective  and  studious  minds. 
In  these  walks,  which  were  continued  through  many  years,  he  would 
often  do  all  the  talking  himself,  especially  when  accompanied  only  b}' 
his  juniors.  .  .  .  Grave  as  were  his  daily  studies,  and  serious  as  was  his 
habitual  tone  of  thought,  those  who  mingled  thus  freely  in  his  society 
amidst  the  scenes  to  which  I  have  alluded,  knew  him  to  be  exceedingly 
fond  of  both  humor  and  of  wit,  and  to  be  capable  of  a  mirtlifulncss 
that  was  in  singular  contrast  with  other  moods  of  his  mind. 

Salaries  were  somewhat  higher  from  the  first  under  the  new 
administration.  The  President  received  $1500,  besides  the 
graduation  fees  and  the  use  of  the  presidential  house  and 
garden.  In  1827-28  the  stopping  of  the  salaries  of  non- 

C   231    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

resident  professors,  and  an  increase  in  the  price  of  tuition  to 
$36  a  year,  enabled  the  Corporation  to  raise  the  salaries  of 
the  resident  professors  to  $1000  each.  But  the  next  year, 
because  of  a  deficit  of  $900  partly  due  to  decrease  in  receipts 
from  tuition,  these  salaries  were  lowered  to  $  1 400  and  $900, 
and  the  new  professor  received  but  $800 ;  other  economies 
were  also  effected.  That  year  the  number  of  students  sank 
to  98;  then  it  began  slowly  to  rise  until  1836-37,  when  it 
reached  196;  afterwards  it  declined  for  some  years,  with 
consequences  to  be  recounted  later.  By  1833-34  the  Presi- 
dent again  received  $1500,  and  the  three  senior  professors 
$1000;  the ' '  adjunctprofessor' '  in  that  year  waspaid  $600, 
the  two  tutors  $400  each,  and  the  librarian  $175.  About 
this  scale  was  maintained  for  many  years.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  pay  out  much  more  in  salaries  without  a  large  in- 
crease in  productive  endowment,  and  of  that  there  had  been 
almost  none.  President  Wayland  stated,  in  a  special  report 
of  1841,  that  the  entire  property  of  the  university  was  then 
worth  more  than  $150,000,  a  great  gain  since  ten  years 
before;  but  the  productive  funds,  amounting  to  $32,300, 
had  increased  only  $1000  in  the  same  time.  Here  was  a 
situation  sure  to  become  increasingly  distressful  as  the  cost 
of  living  rose. 

Intellectually  and  morally  the  college  community  seems  to 
have  had  a  healthy  hardihood,  but  perhaps  it  had  too  little 
play.  The  tallow-candle  illumination  on  the  night  before 
Commencement,  which  had  apparently  been  for  some  time 
a  source  of  anxiety  to  the  authorities,  was  stopped  at  once 
by  Wayland.  The  other  features  of  the  gala  week  remained 
almost  unchanged,  except  that  the  President  made  an  effort 
to  give  the  exercises  of  Commencement  day  more  dignity 
and  decorum.  The  Rhode  Island  Americaii  Ss?  Providence 
Gazette^  in  the  issue  before  his  first  Commencement,  said : 

C     232     ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

"It  is  earnestly  hoped  tliat  those  who  attend  the  Com- 
mencement will  go  there  for  the  purpose  of  hearing,  and  not 
merely  to  display  fine  clothes,  fine  faces,  and  fine  chat." 
After  Commencement  it  said:  "Though  it  was  difticult, 
and  in  most  cases  impossible  for  the  speakers  to  be  heard 
beyond  their  immediate  circle,  an  attentiveness  and  decorum 
were  preserved  b}'  the  A\hole  assembly.  .  .  .  The  barbarous 
mode  of  expressing  applause,  by  stamping  and  clapping, 
was,  at  the  special  request  of  the  President,  wholly  dispensed 
with." 

The  diary  of  Williams  Latham  gi\es  a  complete  picture 
of  this  Commencement  week  as  seen  by  a  member  of  the 
graduating  class : 

Sept.  1,1827,  Started  from  home  this  morning  at40clock  and  reached 
Providence  at  half  past  9,  Just  time  to  rehearse  my  piece  in  the  Chapel 
with  most  of  my  classmates.  .  .  . 

On  Sunday  sept.  2  went  to  meeting  Mr.  Edes  with  friend  Minard 
and  sung  a  litde — in  the  afternoon  went  to  Mr.  Pickerings  and  heard 
a  fine  sermon  about  the  love  and  benevolence  of  God — This  day  has 
passed  off  rather  heavily  On  Monday  rehearsed  our  pieces  in  the  Bap- 
tist meeting  house  Philips  being  absent  after  his  intended  wife.  .  .  . 

Tuesday — This  morning  the  students  were  dismissed  and  many 
of  them  have  gone  home,  violating  a  particular  law  of  the  old  system 
so  much  deprecated — There  are  three  Literary  Societies  in  College, 
Viz.  Philermenian,  United  Brothei-s,  and  Franklin,  The  two  first  cel- 
ebrate this  day,  the  other  being  disappointed  in  the  Orator — The 
Philei-menians  this  forenoon  Professor  Burgess  being  the  Orator,  He 
diliverd  a  fine  oration  on  the  history  and  power  of  eloquence — The 
Brothers  had  a  Mr.  Burton  of  Oxford  on  die  progress  of  intellectual 
improvement — 

S[t] rangers  and  Alumni  have  been  numerous,  this  evening  They 
flocked  into  the  College  }'ard  thinking  there  would  be  an  illumination 
as  usual  but  were  disappointed,  yet  they  kept  up  an  old  custom  by 
burning  a  tar  barrel  which  induced  the  President  to  come  out  into  the 
yard  and  trj^  to  drive  them  out  but  without  success — 

C   233   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Wednesday  Sept.  5,  1827.  The  long  wished  day  has  arrived  and 
almost  past — The  day  is  pleasant — at  ten  a  procession  was  formed 
and  some  with  gowns  and  some  without  them,  marched  to  the  Baptist 
meeting  house  es[c]orted  by  music — and  there  heard  the  President 
make  a  solemn  prayer — 9  spoke  in  the  forenoon  of  which  number  I 
was  one — at  noon  My  class  were  all  seated  at  one  table  on  the  lower 
floor  south  end  of  the  Old  College — Grace  was  said  by  Thresher  and 
the  table  was  dismissed  by  Bishop — A  sumptuous  table  without  strong 
drink,  excepting  good  cider — but  this  was  not  sufficent  and  of  course 
wine  was  called  for  and  producd — a  few  songs  were  sung  and  much 

noise  made — Mr [a  member  of  the  class,  a  theologue]  made 

a  communication  to  the  Class  in  which  he  expressed  his  thanks  and  best 
wishes  for  the  favour  they  had  confered  upon  him  Viz  a  suit  of  black 
clothes  — he  being  indigent  This  afternoon  the  house  was  uncommonly 
crouded,  every  inch  of  ground  was  occupied — This  evening  My  Class 
were  invited  to  the  Presidents  levee  or  party  and  accordingly  went 
and  were  treated  in  the  best  style — 

Thursday  every  thing  was  still  and  all  were  preparing  to  take  a  mel- 
oncholly  departure — This  day  Thresher  started  for  N.  Y.  where  he 
is  to  marry  a  lady  of  respectability — This  evening  Weeded  [= Wee- 
den],  Putnam,  Minard,  and  myself  went  to  Mr  Burrows  and  bid 
farewell  by  taking  a  glass  of  wine — 

The  absence  of  Class  Day  festivities  in  this  account  is  no- 
ticeable. But  the  class  had  appointed  an  orator  and  a  poet  in 
the  autumn  of  1826,  for  a  celebration  at  Bristol  some  time 
in  the  spring ;  and  had  recendy  had  a  meeting  and  a  supper 
before  separating  for  the  summer,  as  appears  from  the  fol- 
lowing entries  in  the  diary  : 

Thursday  May  10th.  1827  — 

This  morning  was  held  a  meeting  of  the  Senior  Class  at  the  Pump, 
at  which  it  was  resolved,  that  this  class  choose  a  corresponding  com- 
mittee consisting  of  two  persons,  Viz.  John  H.  C[l]ifford  Esq.  chair- 
man John  H  Weeden  deputy  to  perform  the  duty  of  the  committee 
in  the  absence  of  the  chairman 

Resolved,  that  each  individual  of  the  class,  ayiualhj^  address  a  line  to 
the  chaimian  on  the  first  day  of  January  stating  his  prospects  in  life — 

[    234    3 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVKRSI'i  V 

Resolved,  that  the  committee  answer  all  the  letters  he  leceivcs,  on 
the  first  day  of  February —  .  .  . 

After  the  [Commencement]  parts  were  given  out,  the  class  were 
invited  down  to  Mr.  C[l]ifford's  where  the}'  went  and  partook  of 
cold  ham  and  stimulus  of  the  first  rate — The  following  toast  was 
given  by  Oilman  who  was  verv  much  dissatisfied  with  his  part, "  Those 
who  wished  to  abolish  the  old  s^•stem  and  praved  for  the  ne\v  one 
have  jumped  out  of  the  fr)ing-pan  into  the  fire"  — 

As  the  years  went  on,  certain  changes  were  made  in  the 
Commencement  program.  In  1829,  since  the  class  was 
small,  all  the  speeches  were  delivered  at  one  session  ;  and  this 
became  the  custom,  the  number  of  speeches  delivered  being 
limited  to  fifteen  or  sixteen.  In  1835  there  were  but  five  ora- 
tions, including  two  for  the  master's  degree,  for  the  sen- 
iors, wuth  three  exceptions,  declined  their  degrees  because 
the  competiti\'e  system  of  Commencement  parts  impressed 
them  as  appealing  to ' '  the  unworthy  passions  of  the  heart ' ' ; 
all  were  finally  awarded  degrees  —  some,  at  the  request  of 
friends,  after  they  had  graduated  from  this  world.  The 
Classical  Oration  was  introduced  in  1838,  the  Philosophical 
the  next  year.  The  variety  in  form  was  much  less  than 
in  the  earlier  administrations:  conferences  appeared  for  the 
last  time  in  1839,  disputes  were  now  wholly  a  thing  of  the 
past  except  for  a  solitary  revival  in  that  year,  and  poems 
became  rare ;  essays  and  dissertations  were  common  for  a 
while,  but  after  1850  all  the  speakers  delivered  "orations." 
In  subjects,  however,  the  range  grew  wider  and  wider,  and 
the  topics  were  also  more  specific  and  modern.  Philosophv, 
ethics,  politics,  history,  and  the  fine  arts  all  received  atten- 
tion, and  much  more  often  tlian  before  the  themes  were 
drawn  from  literature. 

Although  the  popular  interest  in  Commencement  '\\eek 
gradually   declined,  its  social  attractiveness  increased  for 

C   235   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

those  in  the  academic  circle.  The  Providence  Journal  smd  of 
the  Commencement  of  1841:  "The  meeting  house  was  as 
croM  ded  as  ever.  The  speakers  did  their  best  to  make  them- 
selves heard  above  the  noise  from  the  movements  of  the 
cro^^•d  and  the  talking  of  the  ladies,  who  would  chat  with 
the  gallants  circulating  about  the  house  in  spite  of  Marshals, 
Sheriffs,  and  Constables.  The  meeting  house  is  a  fine  place 
to  receive  yearly  calls  from  their  old  admirers  among  the 
graduates,  and  this  to  them  is  full  as  important  a  matter  as 
the  speaking. "The  programs  from  1847  to  1850  had  this 
request,  or  its  equivalent,  printed  on  the  first  page : ' '  Persons 
occupying  pews  in  the  church  are  requested  not  to  stand 
upon  the  seats,  or  to  converse  aloud, during  the  exercises." 
The  Commencement  dinner  gained  yearly  in  numbers  and 
in  social  features .  The  records  of  the  class  of  1 84 1  say : ' '  The 
eating  was  despatched  in  ]4,  an  hour  or  so  &  then  all  joined 
in  singing  the  100th.  psalm  as  printed  &  distributed  to 
each  person.  After  this  was  sung  &  an  abortive  attempt  at 
Auld  Lang  Syne  the  dinner  broke  up."  In  1847  about  one 
hundred  and  sixty  persons  attended  the  dinner,  and  there 
were  speeches,  one  by  Charles  Sumner.  Two  years  later  the 
dinner  was  in  Rhode  Island  Hall,  which  was  completely 
filled,  and  there  were  six  speeches  and  a  poem,  followed  by 
an  alumni  meeting  in  Manning  Hall ;  in  the  evening  came 
the  President's  reception  in  his  "  hospitable  mansion,  "This 
Commencement  was  attended  by  two  alumni  of  President 
Manning's  day,  William  Wilkinson,  of  the  class  of  1783, 
and  Simeon  Doggett,  of  the  class  of  1788.  In  this  year  the 
election  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  came  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  day  before  Commencement,  and  was  followed  by 
an  oration  in  the  First  Congregational  Church.  In  the  same 
place,  in  the  afternoon,  an  oration  Avas  spoken  before  the 
Philermenian  Society  and  the  United  Brothers,  and  a  mis- 

[    ^S6  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

sionary  sermon  was  preached  in  the  First  Baptist  Church  in 
the  evening. 

Thus  the  exercises  of  Commencement  week  were  grad- 
ually approaching  the  form  \\'hich  they  were  long  to  hold. 
The  chief  dift'erence  still  was  the  absence  of  Class  Day;  but 
the  records  of  the  class  of  1841  show  that  one  of  the  main 
features,  theclass  supper  —  or  dinner  —  had  already  become 
a  well-established  custom,  for  the  dinner  is  there  called  "a 
venerable  relic  of  the  past."  It  was  held  in  the  City  Hotel, 
on  the  day  after  Commencement,  and  lasted  from  3  to  6 
p.m.  Toasts  were  drunk,  and  songs  sung  —  "Fill,  fill  the 
sparkling  brimmer,"  "Oft  in  the  stilly  night,"  "Auld 
Lang  Syne,"  and  the  class  ode.  "As  the  last  two  verses 
were  being  sung  all  walked  around  the  table  &  each  gave 
his  hand  to  all  the  others."  Class  officers  were  chosen — a 
president,  five  vice-presidents,  and  a  secretary  —  and  the 
meeting  adjourned  for  three  years. 

At  this  period,  also,  the  first  alumni  association  was 
formed.  Several  years  before,  it  is  true,  the  alumni  had  taken 
concerted  action  to  establish  prizes  for  declamation  and  com- 
position. The  Corporation  records  of  September  2,  1824, 
say  that "  At  a  numerous  meeting  of  Alumni  of  Brown  Uni- 
versity, holden  in  the  Philosophical  Lecture  room  of  the 
University  on  the  third  day  of  September  A. D.  1823.  The 
Reverend  William  Rogers  a  graduate  of  the  first  commence- 
ment of  the  University,  Chairman,"  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  raise  a  fund  of  $1000,  the  income  of  which  should 
be  used  for  the  purchase  of  medals  to  be  awarded  to  the 
winners  of  contests  in  declamation  and  composition.  The 
contests  were  to  be  held  on  the  day  after  Commencement;  the 
committee  of  award  were  to  be  the  professor  of  oratory  and 
belles-lettres  and  four  graduates  not  connected  with  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  college ;  on  the  medals  was  to  be  engra\ed, 

C   237  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

"Alumni  fund  of  Brown  University."  The  Corporation 
approved,  and  the  movement  went  forward.  On  October 
26, 1824,  the  Corporation  voted,  "That  the  Akimni  Fund 
Society  be  permitted  to  occupy  the  College  Chapel  on  the 
Tuesdav  Evening  previous  to  the  next  commencement." 
And  on  September  8,  1825,  the  fellows  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  award  the  medals  "at  the  anniversary  exercises 
of  the  Alumni  Society."  There  is  no  record  of  a  contest 
that  year;  but  one  occurred  in  1826,  as  appears  from  the 
following  entry  in  Williams  Latham's  diary,  under  date 
of  November,  1826:  "A  great  discovery,  one  of  the  prize 
pieces  of  composition  found  to  be  a  plagiarism.  This  piece 
of  composition  was  taken  from  an  english  magazine  and  pre- 
sented to  the  Committee  of  the  Alumni  as  original  by 

of  the  Sophomore  Class  —  Strange  to  relate,  this  learned 
Committee  for  awarding  medals  did  not  discover  the  impo- 
sition—  The  other  medal  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Phillips  of 
the  Junior  Class.  Among  those  who  competed  for  the  prize 
in  declamation  G.  Green  and  T.  Hunter  bore  the  palm  — 
and  all  acquitted  themselves  with  honour."  A  program  in 
the  archives  shows  that  the  contest  occurred  on  Septem- 
ber 5,  in  the  chapel,  and  that  four  sophomores  and  four 
juniors  competed. 

But  this  organized  action  of  the  alumni  aimed  at  only 
one  specific  object,  and  was  short-lived,  for  after  the  advent 
of  President  Wayland  nothing  more  is  heard  of  the  soci- 
ety or  the  contests.  During  Commencement  week  of  1842, 
however,  an  association  of  alumni  for  general  purposes 
was  formed ;  and  on  Tuesday,  September  5,  1843,  its  first 
anniversary  meeting  was  held.  The  members  met  in  Man- 
ning Hall,  in  the  morning,  and  marched  to  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  where  John  Pitman,  of  the  class  of  1799,  deliv- 
ered an  oration  on  the  history  of  the  college.  A  dinner  was 

[   238   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

then  serA'ed  in  commons  liall,  at  wliicli  addresses  were  made 
by  President  Wayland,  Ashur  Kobbins  (tutor  under  Presi- 
dent Manning),  William  Wilkinson,  the  mayor  of  Provi- 
dence, and  others.  "Alma  Mater"  was  not  yet  written,  but 
"a  spirited  song,"  by  a  member  of  the  class  of  1832,  "em- 
bodying various  reminiscences  of  college  life,"  was  sung. 
A  similar  meeting  and  dinner  occurred  the  following  year; 
but  from  1845  to  1852  only  business  meetings  for  elec- 
tion of  officers  were  held,  with  reading  of  the  report  of  the 
committee  on  necrology.  The  association  was  weW  officered, 
in  1847  electing  a  president,  three  vice-presidents,  a  secre- 
tary, and  eight  "councillors."  Early  in  1853  some  of  the 
alumni  met  in  Manning  Hall,  "with  the  view  of  making  ar- 
rangements for  an  Alumni  Festival ' '  at  the  next  Commence- 
ment, and  a  committee  of  distinguished  alumni  was  ap- 
pointed to  take  charge  of  the  matter.  The  committee  met  at 
the  office  of  The  Providence  J owmal^  on  January  15,  1853, 
and  ' '  decided  that  there  should  be  an  Oration  and  Poem  on 
the  occasion  of  the  proposed  festival."  At  the  "festival," 
on  September  6,  there  was  no  poem,  but  the  Hon.  Benja- 
min F.  Thurston  gave  an  oration ;  and  the  committee  ^\•as 
reappointed  to  "devise  plans  &c  for  a  continued  celebra- 
tion by  the  Alumni  from  year  to  year. "  Soon  after,  howe\'er, 
the  association  and  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  agreed  to 
hold  literary  exercises  in  alternate  years,  beginning  with  the 
latter  in  1854. 

The  senior  and  junior  exhibitions  were  continued,  though 
there  was  now  but  one  a  year  of  the  latter,  and  interest  in 
them  declined.  The  literary  societies,  on  the  other  hand, 
A\ere  at  the  height  of  their  prosperity  during  the  greater 
part  of  Wayland's  administration.  The  Franklin  Society, 
it  is  true,  died  in  1834,  after  a  life  of  onl}^  ten  years ;  but  the 
two  older  ones,  the  Philermenian  and  the  United  Brothers, 

C   239   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

were  centers  of  keen  intellectual  life,  their  debates  and  other 
exercises  arousing  much  interest.  President  EzekielG.  Rob- 
inson, of  the  class  of  1838,  in  an  article  in  The  Forum^ 
December,  1886,  said: 

The  most  intimate  of  my  friends,  though  pure  in  their  lives  and  mor- 
ally wholesome  as  associates,  were  low  in  their  aims  as  scholars,  satis- 
fied with  very  little  and  very  superficial  work.  They  had  been  sent  to 
college  to  prepare  for  the  ministry.  .  .  .  They  .  .  .  dropped  into  the 
wretched  cant  of  "  laying  aside  ambition  as  unworthy  the  servants  of 
the  Lord."  But  ...  it  was  my  good-fortune  to  be  a  member  of  a  de- 
bating society  composed  of  a  very  different  sort  of  men  from  those 
who  were  my  most  intimate  friends.  In  direct  education  for  the  real 
work  of  life,  no  influences  of  my  college-days  were  equal  to  those  of 
this  society. . . .  Nothing  yet  devised  has  filled,  or  can  fill,  as  a  means 
of  education,  the  place  of  the  great  debating  societies,  composed  of 
representati\'es  from  every  class  in  college,  at  once  imposing  and  in- 
spiring from  their  numbers,  which  were  so  marked  a  feature  of  the 
college  of  forty  or  fifty  years  ago. 

These  societies  also  did  much  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  read- 
ing. The  Philermenians'  library,  of  which  a  printed  cata- 
logue was  issued  in  1849,  had  then  3224  volumes,  and 
was  a  good  general  collection  of  history,  biography,  poetry, 
essays,  and  novels,  a  valuable  supplement  to  the  college 
library.  The  United  Brothers'  library  was  similar.  The  an- 
niversary meetings,  furthermore,  stimulated  oratorical  and 
literary  ambition  by  bringing  to  the  college  such  men  as 
President  Mark  Hopkins,  in  1835,  John  Neal,  in  1838, 
Edwin  P.Whipple,  in  1846,  and  Charles  Sumner,  in  1847; 
N.  P.WilHs  came  as  poet  in  1831. 

Not  content  with  the  existing  opportunities  for  debate, 
James  B.  Angell,  Lloyd  Morton,  and  other  freshmen  formed 
a  class  debating  society  on  October  2,  1845,  which  sur- 
vived until  January  9,  1847.  It  met  Saturday  mornings 
and  thrashed  out  such  questions  as  ' '  Should  the  American 

[   240  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Indian  claim  more  of  our  Sympathy  than  the  Sla\  e  of  the 
Soutli?  "or  "  Do  the  plays  of  Shakspeare,  on  the  Stage  exert 
a  good  influence  on  a  nation  ? ' ' 

A  chapter  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  was  organized  in 
Brown  University  on  July  21,  1830.  The  new  society  not 
only  stimulated  scholarship  among  the  undergraduates  by 
the  annual  election  of  juniors  and  seniors  to  membership, 
but  it  added  to  the  brilliancy  of  Commencement  week  by 
securing  as  orators  and  poets  men  of  wider  fame  than  had 
usually  spoken  before  the  Federal  Adelphi,  which  it  soon 
supplanted.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  George  S.  Hillard, 
Caleb  Cushing,  Henry  Wheaton,  Professor  Edwards  A. 
Park,  and  George  William  Curtis  were  among  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  orators  and  poets. 

Undergraduate  Greek-letter  fraternities  took  root  in  the 
college  in  Wayland's  presidency.  Alpha  Delta  Phi  estab- 
lished a  chapter  in  1836,  Delta  Phi  in  1838,  Psi  Upsilon 
in  1840,  Beta  Theta  Pi  in  1847,  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  in 
1850,  Zeta  Psi  in  1852,  Theta  Delta  Chi  in  1853.  This 
new  feature  of  student  life  evidently  excited  some  alarm. 
Dr.  Wayland  wrote  letters  to  the  presidents  of  various  uni- 
versities, in  1836,  asking  if  they  allowed  secret  societies, 
and  what  they  thought  of  them.  The  replies  were  of  varied 
tenor,  and  no  adverse  action  was  taken  at  that  time.  In  1844, 
however,  the  Corporation  voted,  "That  this  Corporation 
disapproves  of  the  establishment  of  Secret  Societies  by  the 
Undergraduates  of  this  University  or  of  their  participation 
therein  and  that  the  Faculty  of  the  University  be  requested 
to  adopt  such  measures  as  they  may  deem  ad\isable  for 
the  suppression  of  said  secret  societies."  The  Faculty  seem 
to  have  found  suppression  impracticable  or  inadvisable ;  for 
two  years  later  the  Corporation  adopted  the  policy  of  regu- 
lation, instead,  passing  rules  for  the  government  of  the  so- 

[   ^41    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

cieties,  and  empowering  the  President  to  visit  their  meet- 
ings at  any  time. 

The  intellectual  life  of  the  undergraduates  found  expres- 
sion in  still  another  way  under  President  Wayland.  In  July, 
1829,  was  published  the  first  number  of  a  college  magazine, 
The  Bmnoman,'' '  edited  by  Students  of  Brown  University. ' ' 
It  ran  through  twelve  numbers,  which  came  out  monthly  at 
first  and  then  at  longer  intervals,  the  last  number  appear- 
ing in  March,  1831.  The  purpose  of  the  publication  was 
"to  secure  to  the  Students,  the  facility  of  appearing  before 
their  friends,  through  the  medium  of  the  press,  and  to  place 
within  their  reach,  what,  in  subsequent  life,  may  prove  an 
interesting  memento  of  early  attachments."  The  price  was 
$3  a  year.  The  neat  brown  covers  inclosed  twenty -eight 
or  more  pages,  some  of  them  closely  printed,  and  aifording 
a  wide  variety  of  material.  A  few  of  the  articles  are  recent 
Commencement  orations,  one,  on  "Southern  Slavery," 
being  a  defense  of  the  institution  by  a  student  from  South 
Carolina.  There  are  long  and  rather  heavy  essays  on  "  The 
Druids, ' ' ' '  Effects  of  Intellectual  Culture, "  "  The  American 
System  "  (an  argument  for  free  trade),  and  the  like.  Poems 
on  "Mount  Hope,"  " Narragansett  Bay,"  "Twilight," 
"The  Dying  Maiden's  Lament,"  etc.,  relieve  the  youthful 
bosom  of  perilous  stuff.  Critiques  on  Burns,  Lytton,  American 
literature,  etc. ,  show  reading  and  some  sense  for  style.  Light 
sketches  and  tales  of  a  melodramatic  cast  —  "The  Pirate," 
"The  Suicide,"  "The  Anchorite" — supply  more  read- 
able matter.  College  news  and  comments  on  college  life  are 
almost  wholly  absent ;  but  during  the  newspaper  attacks  on 
the  new  administration  the  editors  say  that  the  criticisms 
show  spleen,  and  that  "never  before  has  such  universal 
satisfaction  been  felt  by  the  students  respecting  the  affairs 
of  the  College."  The  most  entertaining  page  is  the  last  of 

[     242     ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

all,  on  which  the  editors,  "  Viator"  and  "Philander,"  take 
farewell  of  the  public:  "If  our  eftbrts  have  relaxed  for  a 
moment  the  stern  visage  of  Gravity,  or  prompted  a  readier 
smile  on  the  countenance  of  Gaiety,  if  fair  bosoms  have 
throbbed  over  our  pages  and  soft  sighs  been  breathed  over 
our  Tales,  we  have  not  labored  in  vain.  .  .  .  Our  patrons 
will  accept  our  \\armest  gratitude ;  our  subscribers  are 
entitled  to  the  same — when  they  shall  have  paid  their  bills ; 
our  fellow-students  who  have  assisted  our  efforts,  receive 
our  thanks ;  to  our  friends,  we  proffer  our  regards,  to  our 
foes  our  indifference;  to  all,  we,  as  editors,  with  unmingled 
joy  bid  an  eternal  Farewell." 

A  reading-room  association  was  formed  in  1840  by  a 
meeting  of  students  in  the  chapel,  when  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  procure  and  fit  up  a  room ;  what  room  \\  as 
secured  does  not  appear,  but  it  was  supplied  with  elcA  en 
periodicals  and  twelve  newspapefs.  In  1841,  it  was  voted  to 
discontinue  the  periodicals  because  of  the  "abstraction  "  of 
them  by  unprincipled  members ;  a  year  later  the  admission 
fee  was  changed  ' '  by  graduating  the  price  to  the  several 
classes"  ;  in  1843  resident  graduates  were  given  the  privi- 
leges of  undergraduates.  At  that  time  it  was  also  voted  to 
establish  a  ' '  Record  of  College  news  &c  and  place  the  same 
under  the  sole  care  of  an  Editor  "  ;  and  from  this  have  been 
gleaned  the  foregoing  facts  about  the  association.  The  ' '  Rec- 
ord "also  shows,  by  its  "Definitions,  not  found  in  \\' eb- 
ster,"  how  ancient  are  some  still  extant  college  terms  and 
habits:  '"'' Fliinck — a  forced  confession  of  an  empty  head. 
Pony — a  small  steed  for  cripples,  — unsafe,  obsolete.  Study- 
hours —  intervals  of  time  between  the  ringings  of  the  college 
bell."  The  record  seems  to  have  been  discontinued  after  a 
few  months;  how  long  the  association  lived  is  not  known. 

The  Society  of  Missionary  Inquiry  was  organized  in  1834 
C   243   H 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

and  lived  until  1891.  Musical  organizations  were  formed 
from  time  to  time.  Williams  Latham  notes  in  his  diary,  on 
November  24,  1826, "Harmonic  Society  got  excused  from 
singing  in  the  Chapel  any  more  this  term  "  ;  on  March  25, 
1827,"  At  11  O, clock  the  Harmonic  Society  to  Mr  Edes's 
Meeting  house,  where  with  the  use  of  the  Organ  we  sung 
many  tunes  out  of  Bridgewater  Collection  to  the  gratifica- 
tion of  Rev.  Mr.  Edes  and  some  others  "  ;  and  on  Sunday, 
April  15, "  To  day  non  [=  noon]  the  Harmonic  Society  met 
in  the  projection  room  old  College."  At  the  Commence- 
ment of  1828  the  music  was  furnished  by  a  student  band. 
At  the  junior  and  senior  exhibitions  in  Manning  Hall,  in 
1837,  there  was  music  by  "The  Brunonian  Band."  Dra- 
matic clubs  would  probably  not  have  been  tolerated ;  but 
Latham's  diary  contains  this  record  of  a  moot  court  in 
1826:  "College  Court  instituted  and  holden  at  No  56  U.  H. 
on  the  5  day  of  Nov.  Commonwealth  versus  Charles  Gil- 
man  for  an  assault  and  battery  upon  the  person  of  Wms: 
H.  Spear  and  thereby  endangering  his  life.  This  case  was 
conducted  by  Weeden  Attor.  Gen.  and  Lovering  Solic.  on 
the  part  of  Commonwealth  and  Colby  and  myself  for  the 
defendant.  After  having  a  fair  and  impartial  trial  he  was 
found  guilty  of  two  of  the  three  charges  set  forth  in  the 
indictment  —  The  sentence  of  Court  was,  to  treat  the  whole 
College  and  the  high  sheriff  was  ordered  to  see  that  it 
was  performed  in  all  its  parts.  Joseph  Phillips  chief-Justice 
C.  Carpenter  H.  Sheriif." 

"  Junior  Burials "  had  not  yet  been  devised,  but  what 
seems  to  be  their  historic  forerunner  w  as  already  in  existence. 
"This  forenoon,"  writes  Latham  on  May  5,  1827, "we 
burnt  our  compositions  which  afforded  much  light  and  heat 
to  warm  and  enliven  this  garden  of  science  Parker  was  the 
high  priest,  Putnam  the  marshal  and  Thurber  the  Poet." 

C    244   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

The  granddaughter  of  a  former  steward  of  the  college,  Jo- 
seph Cady,  witnessed  a  similar  ceremony,  and  described 
it  thus : 

The  first  thing  I  remember  about  college  affaii-s  was  the  burning  of  the 
essays  by  the  students  when  I  was  about  seven  years  old.  It  was  prob- 
ably at  the  end  of  the  spring  term  of  1831.  .  .  .  One  morning  I  noticed 
two  tall  poles  standing  on  the  east  side  of  Hope  College  with  bundles 
of  white  paper  tied  on  them.  Soon  I  heard  music,  and  running  up  the 
garden  promptly  climbed  the  fence  to  investigate.  A  procession  of 
students,  dressed  in  fantastic  costumes,  came  around  Uni\ersit}'  Hall, 
not  a  lengthy  procession  like  those  of  the  present  day,  but  quite  as 
enthusiastic,  and  the  music  (probably  Washington's  March,  as  that 
was  always  played  on  great  occasions)  was  ver)^  inspiriting.  The)'  went 
by  the  old  well  up  the  back  campus  and  halted ;  probably  there  were 
speeches.  Then  the  papers  were  lighted,  and  made  a  very  prett}'  bon- 
fire. I  was  told  afi;erwards  that  the  bundles  contained  the  essaj's  that  the 
students  had  written  during  the  year.  I  do  not  remember  ever  seeing 
such  a  procession  afterwards. 

Sports  were  still  unorganized.  Latham  records  on  March 
22,  1827,  "We  had  a  great  play  at  ball  to  day  noon."  On 
Monday,  April  9,  he  says:  "We  this  morning  .  .  .  have 
been  playing  ball,  But  I  never  have  received  so  much  pleas- 
ure from  it  here  as  I  have  in  Bridgewater  They  do  not  have 
more  than  6  or  7  on  a  side,  so  that  a  great  deal  of  time  is 
spent  in  runing  after  the  ball,  Neither  do  they  throw  so  fair 
ball.  They  are  affraid  the  fello^v  in  the  middle  will  hit  it  with 
his  bat-stick."  On  April  25  he  writes:  "Yesterday  five  or 
six  of  us  went  down  to  the  Observatory  to  roll  nine  pins  — 
This  is  a  very  good  exercise  and  not  very  expensive." 

President  Wayland,  because  of  his  medical  training, 
might  be  expected  to  realize  the  value  of  systematic  ph^^si- 
cal  exercise,  and  he  clearly  had  ideas  ahead  of  his  time 
in  this  regard;  for  he  had  hardly  been  inducted  into  office 
when  the  Corporation  voted,  on  March  15, 1827, "  That  the 

C   245   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

President,  Treasurer  and  Mr.  Dorr,  be  a  Committee,  with 
authority  to  estabHsh  a  Gymnasium  in  this  Institution." 
In  a  circular  of  information  for  1827-28  is  the  statement, 
'*  A  very  complete  Gymnasium,  with  every  variety  of  appa- 
ratus for  exercise,  has  lately  been  erected  on  the  College 
grounds."  This  was  evidently  an  announcement  before  the 
fact,  for  in  the  next  catalogue  there  is  no  reference  to  the 
matter,  and  in  1830  a  communication  in  the  Daily  Ad- 
vertiser of  September  25  speaks  of  "  an  idle  waste  of  money 
on  gymnastic  projects  that  were  no  sooner  conceived  than 
abandoned."  There  was  no  college  gymnasium,  nor  any 
arrangement  with  gymnasiums  in  the  town,  for  many  years 
to  come ;  and  athletic  sports  in  the  modern  sense  were  al- 
most as  long  delayed.  The  Rev.  James  C.  Seagrave,  of  the 
class  of  1845,  in  memoranda  made  shortly  before  his  death 
in  1913,  wrote,  "We  had  games  of  foot  ball  organized  in 
two  minutes,  engaged  in  by  most  of  the  students  residing 
in  the  College  Halls,  and  when  the  game  was  over,  every 
man  was  ready  to  take  up  any  work  on  hand."  The  Rev. 
Henry  I.  Coe,  valedictorian  of  the  class  of  1846,  in  a  recent 
letter  says, ' '  I  never  heard  of  athletics  while  in  the  Univer- 
sity; my  exercise  was  walking."  Alexander  J.  Robert,  of 
the  class  of  1849,  makes  the  following  statement:  "Foot- 
ball was  the  only  sport  engaged  in :  sophomores  vs.  fresh- 
men. No  ground  was  appropriated  for  the  game.  The  rear 
of  Hope  College  &  the  college  fence  on  the  east  were  utilized 
as  the  bounds.  No  one  was  ever  invited,  &  no  one  ever  came 
to  witness  the  game.  There  was  no  gymnasium.  In  the 
spring  of  '48  a  club  of  young  men  in  Bristol  wanted  to  sell 
their  boat  as  they  had  all  married  &  wished  to  retire  to  busi- 
ness hfe.  Twelve  of  us  formed  a  club  &  purchased  the  boat. 
This  was  the  first  boat  ever  owned  by  the  students  of  Brown. 
It  was  a  daily  custom  of  the  students  &  many  of  the  citizens 

I   246  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

to  promenade  on  the  north  side  of  Westminster  St.  after 
5  p.m.  This  was  our  principal  exercise." 

In  spite  of  limited  outlet  for  youthful  spirits  in  the  way  of 
sports,  there  was  little  disorder  during  the  greater  part  of 
Wayland's  presidency.  In  general  the  students  were  busy 
and  well-behaved,  for  fearof  the  majestic  Head  intimidated 
would-be  evil-doers.  "  He  was  disobeyed  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling," writes  Charles  T.  Congdon,  of  the  class  of  1841, 
in  his  Reminiscences^  "and  the  boldest  did  not  care  to  en- 
counter his  frown.  .  .  .  He  had  a  heavy  foot  for  a  student's 
door  when  it  was  not  promptly  opened  after  his  official  knock. 
Once,  when  we  were  bent  upon  illuminating  the  college  in 
honor  of  some  festive  occasion ,  and  contrary  to  his  express 
injunctions,  he  exhibited  his  abilities  in  this  way  most  effect- 
ually. '' Aequo pulsat pede ^''  we  quoted  from  Horace  as  we  fled 
from  his  wrath,  and  saw  one  row  of  lights  extinguished 
after  another."  Mr.  Seagrave  says  of  Wayland  as  a  dis- 
ciplinarian :  "To  us  watching  him  it  seemed  perfectly  easy 
to  administer  the  affairs  of  a  college.  To  know  him  well  was 
to  recognize  a  man  most  forbearing  toward  the  weak  and 
erring.  Look  at  him  —  you  would  not  wish  to  encounter  his 
rebuke  or  his  frown.  But  go  to  his  study,  state  your  per- 
plexity,—  not  another  man  of  all  your  acquaintance  would 
listen  more  attentively  or  help  you  more  truly  and  kindly. 
How  he  dealt  with  unruly  or  dissolute  students  was  another 
thing,  but  the  other  fellows  were  not  expected  or  likely  to 
know  much  about  it,  for  discipline  was  an  unseen  element 
in  our  college  life." 

In  his  last  years,  nevertheless,  Wajland  seems  to  have 
grown  somewhat  autocratic  and  arbitrary.  President  James 
B.  Angell,  who  was  his  pupil  in  the  late  forties  and  his  col- 
league soon  after,  in  a  recent  interview  said  that  he  was 
imperious  and  often  rough,  sometimes  unreasonable  and 

C   247   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

unjust ;  especially  was  he  jealous  of  his  authority  —  question 
that,  and  he  swelled  with  anger.  Weariness  with  routine 
made  him  more  and  more  brusque  toward  the  end.  The 
journal  of  William  G.  Dearth,  of  the  class  of  1855,  pictures 
him  thus  in  the  year  1854:  "Went  up  to  Dr.  W.  after 
recitation  to  explain  the  cause  of  my  absence.  '  The  rever- 
end and  respected  Sir '  w^as  surrounded  by  several  of  the 
rest  of  the  class,  wishing  to  propound  various  question  [s] 
for  his  consideration;  but  after  answering  a  few, he  began 
to  walk  off  into  his  office,  with  the  greatest  coolness  and  dis- 
regard for  us  undergraduates.  I  tried  to  stop  him;  but  had 
to  follow  him  into  the  room  to  say  my  couple  of  words ;  — 
for  he  wouldn't  be  stopped.  Characteristic." 

The  social  station  of  the  undergraduates  as  a  whole  must 
have  risen  somewhat  under  Wayland  ;  but  few  of  them  had 
intercourse  except  with  their  fellows.  President  Angell  says  : 
' '  Students  rarely  went  into  society  in  the  city  before  their 
senior  year,  and  not  many  even  then.  We  found  our  social 
delights  in  our  college  intimacies."  The  close  personal  re- 
lations between  professors  and  students,  of  w  hich  so  much 
is  often  made  in  speaking  of  college  life  half  a  century 
ago,  seem  to  have  been  confined  chiefly  to  the  class-room. 
Mr.  Seagrave,  in  his  memoranda,  says:  "Our  social  life 
was  largely  confined  to  ourselves.  We  did  not  often  visit  the 
professors  in  their  homes."  Mr.  Coe,  in  the  letter  already 
quoted,  writes,  ' '  I  never  while  in  the  University  entered  the 
home  of  the  President  or  any  Professor. ' '  The  experience  of 
Mr.  Robert,  a  Southerner,  was  somewhat  different:  "It 
was  my  good  fortune  to  visit  in  some  families  of  the  best 
society.  Wherever  I  met  some  of  the  professors  at  their 
parties,  they  would  ask  me  to  join  them  in  a  glass  of  wine. 
There  was  never  a  dance  &  but  one  social  event  in  the  col- 
lege during  my  college  course.  The  Registrar,  Mr.  Elliott, 

C  248  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

who  with  his  family  occupied  the  lower  eiist  rooms  of  Uni- 
versity Hall,  held  a  reception  on  Christmas  eve  in  honor 
of  his  niece,  to  which  we,  who  occupied  our  rooms  during 
the  short  vacation,  were  invited." 

In  Messer's  day  the  expenses  were  kept  down  to  the  low- 
est possible  limit.  The  long  \acation,  of  eight  ueeks,  \vas 
put  in  the  winter,  expressly  that  poor  students  might  teach 
school ;  how^  generally  they  availed  themselves  of  the  oppor- 
tunity appears  from  Latham's  diary,  in  which  occurs  the 
entry  in  December,  1826:  "It  is  rather  lonesome  here  in 
College,  Most  of  the  students  have  gone  out  to  keep  school. ' ' 
One  of  President  Wayland's  first  acts  was  to  shorten  this 
vacation  to  six  weeks  ;  and  in  his  report  to  the  Corporation, 
in  1829,  he  argues  in  favor  of  shortening  it  still  more:  "If 
it  be  said  that  the  indigent  students  will  lose  more  time  by 
such  an  arrangement,  we  grant  it ;  but  we  answer  that  those 
who  are  not  indigent,  will  lose  less  time.  And  it  deserves  to 
be  considered,  whether  the  rights  of  one  party  are  not  as 
worthy  your  attention  as  those  of  the  other."  By  1834  the 
vacation  had  been  shortened  to  three  weeks.  At  the  same 
time  the  expenses  of  the  student  had  been  increased  to  $120 
or  more,  besides  a  matriculation  fee  of  $5.  In  1832-33,  per- 
haps because  of  public  clamor  that  the  college  was  now  too 
costly  for  the  poor  man's  son,  two  tables  were  set  in  com- 
mons, one  at  $1  a  week,  and  one  at  from  $1.50  to  $1.61. 
The  cheaper  rate  brought  the  total  annual  cost  of  the  intel- 
lectual life  down  to  $103.50,  while  the  young  plutocrats  at 
the  better  table  paid  $122.50  to  $128.  This  system  was 
retained  for  several  years,  in  spite  of  the  criticism  that  it 
violated  academic  democracy.  "Most  of  us  took  our  meals 
in  Commons  Hall, ' '  writes  President  Angell, ' '  the  room  now 
used  as  a  classroom  on  the  first  floor  in  the  middle  of  the 
east  side  of  University  Hall.  Each  class  had  its  own  table. 

C   249   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

If  the  fare  was  not  very  sumptuous,  it  was  not  costly,  and 
the  conversation  was  hvely.  Occasionally  it  became  so  bois- 
terous as  to  stir  the  amiable  steward,  Mr.  Elliott,  known 
familiarly  to  us  as '  Pluto, '  to  bring  down  his  big  bread-knife 
with  a  loud  resounding  whack  on  his  table,  and  to  shout 
with  his  husky  voice,  'Order,  order. 'I  cannot  say  that  the 
usages  in  Commons  Hall  were  conducive  to  elegant  man- 
ners. But  the  plain  meals  were  spiced  with  the  flavor  of  ex- 
cellent companionship. ' '  Commons  were  abolished  in  1850. 
President  Wayland  has  already  been  described  as  an  ad- 
ministrator and  teacher ;  something  should  be  added  about 
his  personal  life  at  this  time  and  his  books  and  addresses. 
His  life  was  one  of  almost  incessant  toil.  He  wrote  to  his 
sister  in  1832  :  "I  am,  my  dear  A.,  a  perfect  dray-horse.  I 
am  in  harness  from  morning  to  night,  and  from  one  year  to 
another.  I  am  never  turned  out  for  recreation ."  He  did,  how- 
ever, take  daily  exercise. ' '  For  many  years, ' '  write  his  biog- 
raphers, "this  was  his  sole  relief  from  study.  Indeed,  his 
only  idea  of  relaxation  was  exercise  in  the  open  air.  ...  If 
the  weather  was  unfavorable  for  gardening,  he  resorted  to 
sawing  and  splitting  wood."  He  not  only  M^orked  his  brain 
many  hours  daily,  but  he  held  doggedly  to  the  task  set  for 
each  hour  and  concentrated  all  his  energy  upon  it.  By  this 
rigorous  method  he  did  a  large  amount  of  work.  In  addi- 
tion to  performing  the  regular  duties  of  a  college  president 
and  professor,  he  brought  out  The  Elements  of  Moral  Sci- 
ence in  1835,  The  Elements  of  Political  Economy  in  1837, 
The  Limitations  of  Human  Responsibility  in  1838,  Thoughts 
on  the  Present  Collegiate  System  in  the  United  States  in  1842, 
and  Domestic  Slavery,  a  series  of  letters  between  himself  and 
a  Southern  clergyman,  in  1845.  He  was  also  called  upon 
for  many  sermons  and  addresses,  most  of  which  he  pre- 
pared for  publication.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  an 

I    250    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

address  before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction  in  1 830; 
a  discourse  on  "The  Philosophy  of  Analogy,"  before  the 
Brown  chapter  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa  in  1831 ;  an  address, 
"The  Dependence  of  Science  upon  Religion, "at  the  dedi- 
cation of  Manning  Hall  in  1835;  two  sermons  on  "The 
Moral  Law  of  Accumulation,  "preached  during  the  panic  of 
1837 ;  a  discourse  at  the  opening  of  the  Providence  Athen- 
aeum in  1838;  an  address  before  the  Rhode  Island  Soci- 
ety for  the  Encouragement  of  Domestic  Industry  in  1841 ; 

The  Affairs  of  Rhode  Island  ' '  and  ' '  A  Discourse  on  the 
Day  of  Public  Thanksgiving  "  in  1842,  both  dealing  with 
the  Dorr  War ;  a  memorial  address  on  Nicholas  Brown  in 
1841,  and  one  on  Professor  Goddard  in  1846 ;  and  "The 
Duty  of  Obedience  to  the  Civil  Magistrate,"  three  sermons 
preached  in  1847,  referring  to  the  war  with  Mexico.  Among 
his  unpublished  addresses  were  the  Dudleian  lecture  at  Har- 
vard University  in  1831  and  an  address  before  the  Har- 
vard chapter  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa  in  1836.  He  also  contributed 
articles  to  various  newspapers  and  magazines.  He  had  a 
prominent  part  in  improving  the  public  schools  of  the  state 
in  1828,  was  a  founder  and  for  years  the  president  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Instruction,  served  as  examiner  at 
West  Point  in  1837,  and  the  next  year,  at  the  request  of 
the  Secretary  of  State,  gave  advice  about  the  organization 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  He  took  an  active  interest 
in  local  charities,  and  performed  many  labors  in  the  church 
and  affiliated  societies. 

In  the  autumn  of  1840  President  Wayland  sailed  for 
Europe,  returning  in  April  of  the  next  year ;  Professor  Cas- 
well served  as  president  pro  tempore  during  his  absence. 
As  a  vacation  the  tour  was  not  wholly  successful.  Dr.  Wav- 
land  had  never  learned  how  to  play;  the  art  and  the  rich 
material  civilization  of  Europe  meant  little  to  one  so  Purl- 

C   251    J 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tanic  and  practical ;  and  he  could  not  study  continental  life 
deeply,  being  ignorant  of  the  languages.  In  fact,  he  visited 
no  continental  country  but  France,  resisting  a  friend's  in- 
vitation to  go  to  Italy  because  "life  is  too  short  to  devote 
much  of  it  to  sight-seeing."  In  England  he  fared  better. 
He  met  his  uncle,  an  Anglican  clergyman,  and  many  of  the 
dissenting  clergy.  He  became  acquainted  with  various  dis- 
tinguished men  —  Senior,  the  political  economist ;  Sir  James 
Lubbock,  then  president  of  the  Royal  Society,  a  meeting 
of  Avhich  he  attended ;  Professor  Whewell,  Dr.  Chalmers, 
and  other  university  dignitaries  in  Cambridge,  Oxford,  and 
Edinburgh,  some  of  whom  he  heard  lecture.  Of  his  visit 
to  Oxford,  the  Hon.  Isaac  Davis,  who  was  with  him,  said  : 

Here  he  was  most  cordially  welcomed  by  the  magnates  of 
the  university.  I  need  not  tell  you  with  how  eager  an  interest 
he  visited  the  chapels,  libraries,  and  printing  establishments 
of  this  ancient  university,  or  with  what  patient  attention  he 
examined  the  discipline,  courses  of  study,  and  educational 
advantages  thus  fully  open  for  his  inspection. ' '  He  also  went 
to  Rugby  and  had  an  interview  with  Dr.  Arnold ;  and  he 
met  a  few  authors,  including  Miss  Edgeworth  and  Blanco 
White.  He  preached  several  times,  with  great  effect,  and 
everywhere  seems  to  have  made  a  strong  impression.  "I 
well  remember,"  wrote  Mr.  Davis, "  that  Dr.  Wayland  had 
more  invitations  to  dine  with  distinguished  men  in  Liver- 
pool than  it  w^as  possible  for  him  to  accept."  There  is  reason 
to  think,  as  will  appear  later,  that  his  European  experiences 
widened  the  President's  outlook  and  materially  affected  his 
educational  views. 

When  Dr.  Wayland  returned,  Rhode  Island  w^as  in  the 
early  stages  of  a  political  struggle  that  was  to  end  in  the 
Dorr  Rebellion.  Weary  of  the  obstructions  by  which  the 
legislature  had  long  blocked  the  way  to  constitutional  re- 

C  252  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

form,  the  popular  leaders  —  chief  of  w  horn  was  Thomas  W . 
Dorr,  a  man  of  good  Rhode  Island  family  and  a  Har\ard 
graduate — ignored  the  venerable  constitution  and  appealed 
direct  to  the  people  as  the  ultimate  source  of  political  pow  er. 
In  November,  1841,  a  People's  Convention  assembled  in 
Providence  and  framed  a  brand-new  constitution,  alx)lish- 
ing  the  property  qualification  for  suffrage  and  equalizing 
representation  in  the  legislature.  The  following  April  Dorr 
was  elected  governor  under  this  constitution ;  and,  having 
failed  to  secure  recognition  and  support  from  the  federal 
authorities,  he  made  two  formidable  attempts,  in  May  and 
June,  to  obtain  the  people's  rights  by  force  of  arms.  In  this 
contest  it  was  natural  that  the  sympathies  of  the  university 
officials  should  be  chiefly  on  the  side  of  the  conservatives. 
Most  of  them,  however,  took  no  active  part  in  the  struggle; 
but  Professor  Goddard,  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and  a 
facile  \\Titer,  battled  vigorously  for  w  hat  he  considered  good 
government.  "His  essays  for  the  daily  press,  during  this 
period  alone,"  said  Dr.  Wayland,  "would  fill  a  moderately 
sized  volume.  Day  after  day,  he  explained  to  his  fellow  citi- 
zens the  principles  of  rational  liberty;  he  laid  bare,  with  a 
masterly  hand,  the  distinction  between  liberty  and  licen- 
tiousness;  and  when  at  last  the  crisis  arrived  —  with  an 
eloquence  that  fired  the  soul  of  every  true  hearted  man,  he 
urged  us  all  to  unite  in  defence  of  that  heritage  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty  which  God  had  bestowed  upon  our  fathers. ' ' 
President  Wayland  expressed  his  own  view  in  a  sermon 
preached  in  the  First  Baptist  Meeting-House  the  Sunday 
after  the  first  crisis  of  the  rebellion.  His  attitude  was  judi- 
cial and  broad-minded.  "  My  own  opinion,"  he  said,  "as 
many  of  you  know,  has  always  been  in  favor  of  the  exten- 
sion of  suflTrage  " ;  he  affirmed,  too,  that  the  representation  of 
the  towns  "had  become  palpabl}-  unequal,"  and  that  there 

C   253   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

was  "good  reason  for  a  revision  of  this  whole  subject." 
But  although  he  sympathized  ^\•ith  the  aims  of  the  popu- 
lar party, he  dissented  utterly  from  their  methods.  "It  was 
no  more  in  the  main  a  practical  question  how  far  the  right 
of  suffrage  should  be  extended,"  he  declared,  "but  the  ab- 
stract question  whether  the  asserted  majority  of  the  people, 
a  majority  determined  by  no  forms  of  law,  has  a  right  at  any 
moment  to  overturn  the  whole  fabric  of  existing  institutions 
and  form  a  government  at  will." 

The  second  crisis  of  the  rebellion  touched  the  life  of  the 
college  closely,  as  is  set  forth  in  a  circular  letter  of  July  7, 
sent  to  the  parents  of  the  students.  After  rehearsing  the  main 
facts  about  the  gathering  of  the  insurgents  and  the  call- 
ing out  of  the  state  troops,  the  letter  says:  "On  Saturday, 
June  25th,  about  two  thousand  troops  had  arrived  in  this 
city,  and  the  number  was  hourly  increasing.  All  the  means 
for  their  accommodation,  at  the  disposal  of  the  Government, 
had  been  exhausted.  In  this  emergency,  an  official  request 
was  made  by  the  Executive  Council,  that  a  part  of  the  Col- 
lege buildings  might  be  appropriated  to  their  use.  Study, 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  had  become  impossible.  The 
lives  of  the  students  might  have  been  exposed  to  peril  by 
a  longer  continuance  in  the  city ;  and,  anticipating  ^vhat  we 
supposed  would,  in  such  a  case,  be  the  wishes  of  parents,  it 
was  determined  to  suspend  for  a  season  the  exercises  of  the 
Institution . ' '  The  Faculty  records  state  that ' '  the  troops  were 
quartered  in  the  college  for  several  days."  Thus  did  Art 
and  Science  once  more  lend  aid  to  Mars ;  and  the  veteran 
University  Hall,  dreaming  of  the  past  through  all  its  old 
bricks  and  timbers,  might  well  have  fancied  that  the  Revo- 
lutionary days  of  its  youth  had  come  again. 

Professor  Goddard  retired  from  the  Faculty  shortly  after 
the  storm  had  overblown.  Four  years  later,  in  1846,  hedied. 

C   254   ] 


HISTORY  OF   HHOWN  UNIVERSITY 

On  his  mother's  side  he  Mas  descended,  llirough  James 
Angell,  from  one  of  the  founders  of  Rhode  Island .  His  father, 
William  Goddard,  Mas  a  newspaper  proprietor  and  editor 
in  Providence,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  and  also  held 
the  office  of  first  comptroller  of  the  United  States  Post  Office. 
Professor  Goddard  was  born  in  Johnston,  Rhode  Island,  in 
1794.  After  graduating  from  Brown  University  in  1812, 
he  began  the  study  of  laM'  in  Worcester;  but  finding  his 
strength  insufficient  for  the  legal  profession,  he  returned  to 
Providence  in  1814,  and  became  proprietor  and  editor  of 
The  Rhode  Island  American.  In  1825  he  Mas  appointed  a 
professor  in  the  university;  upon  his  resignation  in  1842, 
he  M  as  chosen  a  trustee,  and  fello^v  and  secretary  the  next 
year.  He  was  also  a  director  and  vice-president  of  the  Provi- 
dence Athenaeum,  a  director  of  the  Rhode  Island  Histori- 
cal Society,  a  member  of  the  Providence  school  committee, 
a  representative  in  the  state  legislature,  and  long  a  warden 
of  St.  John's  Church,  although  never  a  church  member. 
Bowdoin  College  gave  him  the  degree  of  LL.D.  in  1843. 
Although  first  appointed  to  the  chair  of  philosophy.  Pro- 
fessor Goddard  felt  that  he  had  no  peculiar  aptitude  for  that 
subject,  and  by  mutual  arrangement  with  his  colleagues, 
says  Dr.  Wayland,  he  was  soon  relieved  of  instruction  in  it, 
giving  himself  instead  to  teaching  rhetoric,  the  evidences 
of  religion,  and  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  His 
mind  was  rather  intuitive  than  logical ;  but  so  keen  was  his 
insight,  so  just  were  his  instincts,  that  President  Wayland, 
although  of  a  very  different  \.y\i^  of  intellect,  greatlv  admired 
his  writings,  saying  of  his  address  on  the  nen-  state  consti- 
tution in  1843,  "I  do  not  remember  any  commentary  upon 
the  nature  of  our  free  institutions,  which,  in  so  few  pages, 
contains  so  much  that  is  of  permanent  value."  Dr.  Wav- 
land  praised  even  more  highly  his  literary  gifts  :  "If  I  have 

C  ^^^  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

correctly  estimated  the  character  of  Mr.  Goddard,  its  most 
remarkable  feature  was  delicate  and  discriminating  sensi- 
bility, .  .  .  His  critical  perceptions  were  more  exquisitely 
delicate  than  those  of  any  man  whom  I  have  ever  known." 
Most  of  Professor  Goddard' s  writings  now  seem  too  for- 
mal, with  words  too  long  and  sentences  too  elaborate ;  but 
correctness  and  finish  are  everywhere  apparent,  and  in 
his  public  letters  on  political  subjects  the  style  becomes 
simpler  and  more  racy,  as  in  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  in  TJie  Providence  Journal  of  October  29,  1841 : 

The  secret  of  all  this  agitation  about  Free  Suffrage  in  Rhode  Island, 
is  coming  to  be  prett}^  well  understood.  An  air  of  suspicion  has  been 
thrown  around  the  whole  movement,  by  the  extremely  active  parti- 
cipation therein  of  certain  gentlemen,  who  have  never  been  remarkable 
for  taking  \&cy  good  care  of  the  people,  except  when  they  expected  the 
people  to  take  very  good  care  of  them.  These  gentlemen,  in  the  late 
Convention,  trampled  upon  some  of  their  favorite  theories,  with  an 
audacity  so  calm  and  collected  that,  under  circumstances  less  grave, 
there  would  arise  in  the  public  mind,  a  struggle  between  admiration 
and  merriment.  As  things  are,  however,  the  predominant  sentiment  is 
indignation — indignation,  that  those  who  have  preached  up,  till  they 
were  hoarse,  the  doctrines  of  undiluted  democratic  equality,  should 
not  hesitate,  for  the  sake  of  expediency,  to  turn  their  backs  upon  their 
own  principles. 

His  academic  addresses  bear  the  impress  of  a  broad  and 
cultivated  mind.  His  oration  at  the  dedication  of  Rhode  Is- 
land Hall  is  a  wide  and  just  survey  of  the  social  benefits  of 
scientific  study  ;  his  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address,  in  1836,  is 
noble  in  spirit,  pleading  for  the  higher  and  finer  life  in  the 
midst  of  commercial  materialism. 

"The  manners  of  Professor  Goddard,"  wrote  President 
Wayland,  "were  courteous  and  refined.  His  personal  habits, 
without  being  painfully  exact,  were  scrupulously  neat,  and 
in  perfect  harmony  with  the  character  of  a  literary  citizen. 

C   256   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

His  con\ersation,  sometimes  playful,  never  frivolous,  was 
always  instructive,  and  at  times  singularly  forcible,  capti- 
vating and  eloquent.  His  tastes  ^\■ere  simple  and  easily  grati- 
fied ;  and  I  think  that  he  preferred  a  book  in  his  study, 
or  a  conversation  at  the  fireside  with  a  friend,  to  any  form 
of  more  exciting  and  outdoor  enjoyment.  .  .  .  He  carried 
into  daily  practice  the  sentiment  ^\  hich  he  uttered  only  a 
few  days  before  his  death. '  The  longer  I  live,'  said  he,  '  the 
more  dearl}^  do  I  prize  being  a  Christian ;  and  the  more 
signally  unimportant  seem  to  me  the  differences  by  ^hich 
true  Christians  are  separated  from  each  other.'  " 


C   257   ] 


CHAPTER  VII 

PRESIDENT  WAYLAND'S  ADMINISTRATION 

[continued] 
the  new  system  :  its  relations  to  harvard  university  and  the 

UNIVERSITY  OF  VIRGINIA  :   ITS  RESULTS  :   PRESIDENT  WAYLANd's  LAST 

YEARS 

IN  the  3'ear  1849  President  Wayland  was  at  the  height 
of  his  powers  and  reputation.  He  was  universally  re- 
spected and  admired  in  the  community  ;  his  addresses  and 
books  had  spread  his  name  far;  and  he  was  widely  known 
as  one  of  the  most  successful  college  presidents  in  the  coun- 
try. The  condition  of  the  university  was  supposed  to  be 
excellent.  It  was  therefore  a  shock  to  the  community  and 
the  alumni,  and  a  surprise  to  a  wider  circle,  when,  the  day 
after  Commencement,  President  Wayland  resigned.  One 
reason  for  his  action  is  given  in  his  own  words  to  the  Cor- 
poration:  "The  undersigned  deems  this  a  suitable  occa- 
sion to  carry  into  effect  a  purpose  which  for  some  years  he 
has  had  in  contemplation  and  devote  the  remainder  of  his 
life  to  pursuits  which  require  the  uninterrupted  command 
of  his  time."  But  there  was  more  behind.  For  several  years 
Dr.  Wayland  had  been  deeply  dissatisfied  with  the  policy 
of  the  institution.  In  1841,  the  year  of  his  return  from  Eu- 
rope, he  had  made  a  formal  report  on  the  subject  to  the 
fellows,  and  the  matter  had  been  discussed  at  length  but 
without  radical  results.  Since  that  time  the  steady  decrease 
in  the  number  of  students,  which  fell  from  196  in  1837 
to  140  in  1845,  and  was  only  152  in  the  year  of  his  resig- 
nation, had  convinced  him  that  there  was  something  fun- 
damentally wrong.  With  the  decrease  in  students  the  in- 
come fell  off,  and  there  was  growing  difficulty  in  meeting 
expenses.  In  1846,  as  a  partial  relief  to  the  treasury,  the 

C   258   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tutors  were  dismissed ;  and  two  jears  later,  Avhen  the  pro- 
fessor of  modern  languages  resigned,  an  instructor  sup- 
ported \\'holl3-  by  fees  was  appointed  in  his  place.  The  sal- 
aries, furthermore,  were  inadequate.  In  September,  1848, 
the  three  senior  professors  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  Cor- 
poration, saying  that  they  could  not  support  their  families 
on  their  salaries,  the  cost  of  living  having  increased  twelve 
or  fifteen  per  cent  in  recent  years ;  that  other  professional 
salaried  men  in  the  city  got  from  fift}-  to  a  hiuidred  per 
cent  more  than  they  did ;  and  that  while  their  salaries  had 
remained  the  same,  their  work  had  been  increased  b}'  the 
reduction  of  the  teaching  staff',  so  that  they  now  had  three  or 
even  four  recitations  daily  instead  of  two.  In  response  the 
Corporation  attempted  to  raise  a  fund  of  $50,000,  but  failed 
completely.  In  these  circumstances  President  Wayland's 
resignation  was  doubtless  meant  to  be  a  call  to  action. 

The  effect  was  electrical.  The  Corporation  at  once  ex- 
pressed a  unanimous  wish  that  he  would  withdraw  his  res- 
ignation. He  consented  on  the  understanding  that  the  \vhole 
matter  would  be  referred  to  a  committee  empowered  to  con- 
fer with  him;  and  a  Committee  of  Advice  was  thereupon  cre- 
ated for  that  purpose.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  commit- 
tee— after  Way  land  had  investigated  the  salaries  at  other 
New  England  colleges^ — was  to  vote  that  the  President's 
salary  be  raised  to  $1600,  Professor  Caswell's  to  $1250, 
and  the  other  four  professors'  to  $1200  each.  The  whole 
situation  was  then  discussed;  and  on  December  18  "The 
present  condition  and  embarrassments  of  the  University 
were  laid  before  the  Corporation  in  a  written  communica- 
tion, by  the  President. ' '  The  subject  was  thereupon  referred 
to  a  committee  of  eleven,  headed  by  Dr.  Way  land.  At  an- 

*  The  correspondence  shows  that  professors  received  $900  at  Amherst,  $1 140 
at  Yale,  $1200  to  $2000  at  Harvanl. 

[   259  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

other  special  meeting,  on  March  28, 1850,  President  Way- 
land,  as  chairman  of  this  committee,  read  his  famous  "  Re- 
port to  the  Corporation  of  Brown  University,  on  Changes 
in  the  System  of  Collegiate  Education."  The  report  was 
ordered  published,  and  formal  action  on  it  was  deferred 
until  May  7. 

The  report  begins  with  a  survey  of  university  education 
in  Great  Britain  and  its  relation  to  the  American  colonial 
college.  The  English  university  was  originally  designed  to 
educate  the  clergy ;  the  studies  were  chiefly  Greek,  Latin, 
and  mathematics;  each  college  was  an  academic  family. 
The  American  college  naturally  followed  the  English  model ; 
but  the  college  building  was  not  an  open  quadrangle  with 
only  one  entrance,  and  the  officers  were  not  required  to  live 
with  the  students.  "The  result  of  our  departures  from  the 
original  idea  has  been  in  every  respect  unfortunate.  In  the 
first  place,  we  assume  the  responsibility  of  a  superintend- 
ence which  we  have  rendered  ourselves  incapable  of  fulfill- 
ing ;  and  we  have  lost  the  humanizing  effect  produced  by 
the  daily  association  of  students  with  older  and  well  bred 
gentlemen,  so  obvious  in  an  English  college."  Yet  the  colo- 
nial colleges  did  effective  work.  "They  nurtured  the  men 
\\ho,  as  jurists  and  statesmen  and  diplomatists,  in  the  in- 
tellectual struggle  that  preceded  the  Revolution,  shrunk  not 
from  doing  battle  with  the  ablest  men  of  the  mother  coun- 
try, and  won  for  themselves,  in  the  contest,  the  splendid 
eulogy  of  Lord  Chatham,  the  noblest  of  them  all.  .  .  .It 
ought  not  here  to  escape  remark,  that  these  colleges  were 
almost  wholly  ^^-ithout  endowment.  They  were  nearly  self- 
supporting  institutions.  The  course  of  study  was  limited, 
and  time  was  allowed  for  deliberate  investigation  of  each 
science.  The  mind  of  the  student  was  suffered  to  invigorate 
itself  by  reflection  and  reading,  and  hence,  with  far  less  per- 

C    260    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

feet  means  than  ^e  now  possess,  it  seems  to  have  attained 
a  more  manly  development." 

"But,  with  the  present  century,  a  new  era  daw  ned  upon 
the  ^\•orld.  A  host  of  new  sciences  arose,  all  holding  impor- 
tant relations  to  the  progress  of  civilization."  These  new 
subjects  had  to  be  given  a  place  in  the  college  curriculum. 
How  should  it  be  done?  By  extending  the  length  of  the 
course?  or  by  allowing  the  student  to  select  certain  subjects 
and  omit  others?  or  by  keeping  to  the  traditional  four  years, 
enlarging  the  number  of  subjects,  and  reducing  the  time 
allowed  to  any  one?  The  last  method  was  the  one  adopted, 
and  the  results  had  been  evil.  "It  seems  to  us  evident,  that 
the  effect  of  this  mode  of  instruction  must  be  unfortunate 
on  the  mind  of  both  student  and  instructor.  The  student 
never  carrying  forward  his  knowledge  to  its  results,  but 
being  ever  fagging  at  elements,  loses  all  enthusiasm  in  the 
pursuit  of  science.  .  .  .  We  have  now  in  the  United  States 
.  .  .  one  hundred  and  twenty  colleges  pursuing  in  gen- 
eral this  course.  All  of  them  teach  Greek  and  Latin,  but 
where  are  our  classical  scholars?  All  teach  mathematics, 
but  where  are  our  mathematicians?  We  might  ask  the  same 
questions  concerning  the  other  sciences  taught  among  us. 
There  has  existed  for  the  last  twenty  years  a  great  demand 
for  civil  engineers.  Has  this  demand  been  supplied  from 
our  colleges?  We  presume  the  single  academy  at  West 
Point,  graduating  annually  a  smaller  number  than  many 
of  our  colleges,  has  done  more  towards  the  construction 
of  railroads  than  all  our  one  hundred  and  twenty  colleges 
united." 

Meanwhile  a  new  and  starding  phase  of  the  matter  de- 
veloped; the  colleges  ceased  to  be  self-supporting.  "Two 
courses  were  again  open  before  the  colleges.  The  first  was  to 
adapt  the  article  produced,  to  the  wants  of  the  community. 

[  06,  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN    UNIVERSITY 

.  .  .  The  other  course  was  to  appeal  to  the  charity  of  the 
pubHc,  and  thus  provide  funds  by  which  the  present  system 
might  be  sustained.  The  second  course  was  adopted.  .  .  . 
Hence,  if  it  be  desired  to  render  a  college  prosperous,  we  do 
not  so  much  ask  in  what  way  can  we  afford  the  best  educa- 
tion, or  confer  the  greatest  benefit  on  the  community ,  but  how 
can  we  raise  funds,  by  which  our  tuition  may  be  most  ef- 
fectually either  reduced  in  price,  or  given  away  altogether? ' ' 
New  England  responded  generously  to  this  appeal,  and 
several  of  her  colleges  are  now  liberally  endowed.  Yet  the 
results  have  been  disappointing.  The  proportion  of  college 
graduates  to  the  whole  population  is  decreasing,  and  the 
average  of  ability  in  the  learned  professions  is  no  higher 
than  it  was  thirty  years  ago.  "We  are,  therefore,  forced 
to  adopt  the  .  .  .  supposition,  that  our  colleges  are  not  filled 
because  we  do  not  furnish  the  education  desired  by  the 
people.  ...  Is  it  not  time  to  inquire  whether  we  cannot 
furnish  an  article  for  which  the  demand  will  be,  at  least, 
somewhat  more  remunerative?  " 

The  report  then  turns  to  the  case  of  Brown  University  in 
particular.  The  history  of  the  college  since  1827  is  sketched, 
with  due  emphasis  on  the  improvement  in  equipment.  But 
there  has  been  no  considerable  increase  in  productive  funds, 
and  the  attendance  has  decreased ;  hence  the  institution  is 
financially  embarrassed.  "Proceeding  at  this  rate,  the  fund 
must  soon  be  exhausted,  and  the  institution  become  bank- 
rupt." What  means  shall  be  adopted  for  its  relief?  The 
means  recommended,  constituting  the  radical  portion  of  the 
report,  may  best  be  stated  by  giving  considerable  extracts 
from  the  report  itself: 

Were  an  institution  established  with  the  intention  of  adapting  its  in- 
struction to  the  wants  of  the  whole  community,  its  arrangements  would 
be  made  in  haiTnony  with  the  following  principles. 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

1.  The  present  system  of  adjusting  collegiate  study  to  a  fixed  term 
of  four  -vears,  or  to  any  other  term,  must  be  abandoned,  and  e\er\' 
student  be  allowed,  within  limits  to  be  detennined  by  statute,  to  carry 
on,  at  the  same  time,  a  greater  or  less  number  of  courses  as  he  may 
choose.  .  .  . 

3.  The  various  courses  should  be  so  arranged,  that,  in  so  far  as  it  is 
practicable,  ever}-  student  might  study  what  he  chose,  all  that  he  chose, 
and  nothing  but  what  he  chose.  .  .  . 

4.  E\er\^  course  of  instruction,  after  it  has  been  commenced,  should 
be  continued  without  interruption  imtil  it  is  completed. 

5.  In  addition  to  the  present  coui-ses  of  instruction,  such  should 
be  established  as  the  wants  of  the  various  classes  of  the  community 
require.  .  .  . 

The  courses  of  instruction  to  be  pursued  in  this  institution  might  be 
as  follows: 

1.  A  course  of  instruction  in  Latin,  occupying  two  years. 

2.  A  course  of  instruction  in  Greek,  occup}'ing  two  years. 

3.  A  course  of  instruction  in  three  Modem  languages. 

4.  A  course  of  instruction  in  Pure  Mathematics,  two  years. 

5.  A  course  of  instruction  in  Mechanics,  Optics,  and  Astronomy, 
either  with  or  without  Mathematical  Demonstrations,  Xyi  years. 

6.  A  course  of  instruction  in  Chemistry,  Physiology  and  Geology, 
lyi  years. 

7.  A  course  of  instruction  in  the  English  Language  and  Rhetoric, 
one  year. 

8.  A  course  of  instruction  in  Moral  and  Intellectual  Philosophy, 
one  year. 

9.  A  course  of  instruction  in  Political  Economy,  one  term. 

10.  A  course  of  instruction  in  History,  one  term. 

11.  A  course  of  instruction  in  the  Science  of  Teaching. 

12.  A  course  of  instruction  on  the  Principles  of  Agriculture. 

13.  A  course  of  instruction  on  the  Application  of  Chemistry  to  the 
Arts. 

14.  A  course  of  instruction  on  the  Application  of  Science  to  the 
Arts. 

15.  A  course  of  instruction  in  the  Science  of  Law.  .  .  . 

That  such  a  change  as  is  here  proposed,  would  add  to  the  number 
of  its  pupils,  seems  to  your  committee  probable,  for  several  reasons. 

[   263   H 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

1.  The  course  of  instruction  will,  it  is  hoped,  present  a  better  prep- 
aration for  the  learned  professions,  than  that  pui^ued  at  present.  There 
is  no  reason,  therefore,  why  this  class  of  pupils  should  be  diminished. 

2.  Opportunity'  would  be  afforded  to  those  who  wished  to  pui-sue 
a  more  generous  course  of  professional  education,  to  remain  in  college 
profitably  for  five  or  six  years,  instead  of  four,  as  at  present. 

3.  Man\'  young  men  who  intend  to  enter  the  professions,  are  un- 
willing or  unable  to  spend  four  years  in  the  preparatory  studies  of 
college.  They  would,  however,  cheerfully  spend  one  or  two  years  in 
such  stud}',  if  the\'  were  allowed  to  select  such  branches  of  science  as 
they  chose.  This  class  would  probably  form  an  impotent  addition  to 
our  numbers,  and  we  should  thus,  in  some  degree,  improve  the  educa- 
tion of  a  large  portion  of  all  the  professions. 

4.  If  we  except  the  ancient  languages,  there  are  but  few  of  the  stud- 
ies now  pursued  in  college,  which,  if  well  taught,  would  not  be  attrac- 
Uve  to  young  men  preparing  for  any  of  the  active  departments  of  life. 
If  these  several  courses  were  so  airanged  as  to  be  easily  accessible 
to  intelligent  young  men  of  all  classes,  it  may  reasonably  be  expected 
that  many  will  desire  to  spend  a  term,  a  year,  or  two  years,  under  our 
instruction. 

5.  It  is  not  probable  that  the  courses  of  instruction  in  agriculture, 
or  chemistiy,  or  science  applied  to  the  arts,  will,  of  necessity,  occupy 
all  the  time  of  the  student.  Many  of  these  persons  will  probably  desire 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  so  easily  placed  in  their  power. 
Another  source  of  demand  for  the  courses  in  general  science  would  thus 
be  created. 

Should  these  expectations  be  realized,  it  will  be  perceived  that  the 
addition  to  our  numbers  will  come  fi-om  classes  who  now  receive  no 
benefit  whatever  fi-om  the  college  system,  as  it  at  present  exists.  .  .  . 

If  reasons  need  be  offered  for  attempting  the  changes  in  our  colle- 
giate system  that  have  been  here  indicated,  the  following  will  readily 
suggest  themselves. 

1.  It  IS  JUST.  —  Every  man  who  is  willing  to  pay  for  them,  has  a 
right  to  all  the  means  which  other  men  enjoy,  for  cultivating  his  mind 
by  discipline,  and  enriching  it  with  science.  .  .  .  And  yet  we  have  in 
this  country,  one  hundred  and  twenty  colleges,  foi-ty-two  theological 
seminaries,  and  forty-seven  law  schools,  and  we  have  not  a  single  in- 
stitution designed  to  furnish  the  agriculturist,  the  manufacturer,  the 

C   264   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

mechanic,  or  the  merchant  with  the  education  that  \vill  prepare  liim 
for  the  profession  to  which  his  life  is  to  be  devoted.  .  .  . 

2.  It  is  expedient.  —  ...  Ci\irization  is  advancing,  and  it  am  only 
advance  in  the  line  of  the  useful  arts.  ...  A  knowledge  univei-sally  dif- 
fused of  the  laws  of  vegetiition,  might  ha\e  doubled  our  annual  agri- 
cultural products.  ProbabK'  no  countr\'  on  earth  can  boast  of  as  in- 
telligent a  class  of  mechanics  and  manufacturers,  as  our  own.  Had  a 
knowledge  of  principles  been  generalh' diffused  among  them,  we  should 
already  have  outstripped  Europe  in  all  those  aits  which  increase  the 
comforts,  or  multiply  the  refinements  of  human  life.  .  .  . 

3.  It  is  necessary.  — To  us,  it  seems  that  but  little  option  is  left 
to  the  colleges  in  this  matter.  .  .  .  Men  who  do  not  design  to  educate 
their  sons  for  the  professions,  are  capable  of  detennining  upon  the 
kind  of  instruction  which  thev  need.  If  the  colleges  will  not  fiu-nish  it, 
they  are  able  to  provide  it  themselves;  and  the}'  will  provide  it.  In 
New  York  and  Massachusetts,  incipient  measures  have  been  taken  for 
establishing  agricultural  colleges.  .  .  .  \V^hat  is  proposed  to  be  done  for 
the  farmei-s,  must  soon  be  done  either  for  or  b}'  the  manufacturers  and 
merchants.  .  .  . 

It  will  at  once  appear,  that  if  an  extended  and  \arious  system  of 
education,  such  as  has  been  indicated  above,  be  adopted,  the  relation 
of  the  parties  [i.e..  Corporation  and  Faculty]  to  each  other  must 
be  made  more  simple  and  definite.  The  corporation  cannot  pretend 
any  longer  to  hold  themselves  responsible  for  the  support  of  every 
professor ;  nor  can  they  pretend  to  oversee  him  in  the  discharge  of  his 
dut}'.  .  .  .  The  officer  who  accepts  of  a  professorship  will  then  be  enti- 
tled to  whatever  income  is  attached  to  it,  and  he  will  look  to  his  fees 
for  instruction  for  the  remainder  of  his  compensation.  Like  every  other 
man,  the  instructor  will  be  brought  directly  in  contact  with  the  public, 
and  his  remuneration  will  be  made  to  depend  distinctl}'  upon  his  in- 
dustry and  skill  in  his  profession.  .  .  . 

We  proceed,  in  the  last  place,  to  consider  the  subject  of  aaidemical 
degrees.  .  .  . 

We,  in  New  England,  insist  upon  requirements  never  thought  of 
in  any  other  countn'.  There  has  not,  probably,  been  a  first  claas  man 
in  either  Oxford  or  Cambridge  for  a  century,  who  could  sustain  an 
examination  in  one  half  of  the  studies  required  of  the  candidate  for  a 
degree  in  one  of  our  New  England  colleges.  And,  on  the  other  hand, 

C   265  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

none,  even  of  our  highest  scholars,  could  sustain  the  examinations  re- 
quired of  a  senior  wrangler  or  first  class  man  in  these  univei-sities.  .  .  . 

By  adopting  ...  a  system  of  equivalents,  we  may  confer  degrees 
upon  a  given  amount  of  knowledge,  though  the  kind  of  knowledge 
which  makes  up  this  amount  may  differ  in  different  instances.  Thus, 
for  instance,  suppose  a  course  should  be  prescribed,  containing  a  given 
amount  of  Latin,  Greek,  Mathematics,  and  Natural  and  Moral  and 
Intellectual  Philosophy,  and  Rhetoric,  as  the  basis  of  requirement  for 
degrees.  In  determining  upon  equivalent  coirrses,  a  certain  amount  of 
some  other  study  might  compensate  for  Latin,  or  Greek,  as  a  certain 
amount  of  some  other  study  might  be  a  compensation  for  the  higher 
mathematics,  or  intellectual  philosophy,  and  so  of  the  rest.  An  arrange- 
ment of  this  kind  would  seem  just,  and  to  us  it  seems  not  to  be  imprac- 
ticable. 

The  objection  that  would  arise  to  this  plan,  would  probably  be  its 
effect  upon  the  classics.  It  will  be  said,  that  we  should  thus  diminish 
the  amount  of  study  bestowed  on  Latin  and  Greek.  To  this  the  reply 
is  easy.  If  by  placing  Latin  and  Greek  upon  their  own  merits,  they 
are  unable  to  retain  their  present  place  in  the  education  of  civilized 
and  Christianized  man,  then  let  them  give  place  to  something  better. 
They  have,  by  right,  no  preeminence  over  other  studies,  and  it  is  ab- 
surd to  claim  it  for  them.  But  we  go  further.  In  our  present  system  we 
devote  some  six  or  seven  years  to  the  compulsory  study  of  the  classics. 
.  ,  .  And  what  is  the  fruit  ?  How  many  of  these  students  read  either 
classical  Greek  or  Latin  after  they  leave  college  ?  ...  Is  there  not  reason 
to  hope,  that  by  rendering  this  study  less  compulsory,  and  allowing 
those  who  have  a  taste  for  it  to  devote  themselves  more  thoroughly 
to  classical  reading,  we  shall  raise  it  from  its  present  depression,  and 
derive  from  it  all  the  benefit  which  it  is  able  to  confer? 

As  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  the  report  affirmed 
that  "This  college  cannot,  under  any  circumstances,  be 
long  sustained  without  large  addition  to  its  funds";  and 
that ' '  There  is  reason  to  hope  that  the  same  amount  of  funds 
which  would  be  necessary  to  sustain  the  college  under  the 
present  system,  might,  if  the  system  were  modified  in  the 
manner  above  suggested,  add  greatly  to  the  number  of  stu- 

[    ^66  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

dents,  and,  at  the  same  time,  confer  inestimable  advantages 
on  every  class  of  society."  The  committee  therefore  recom- 
mended to  the  Corporation  the  adoption  of  this  resolntion  : 
"Resolved,  that  the  system  of  instruction  in  Brown  Uni- 
versity be  modified  and  extended  in  the  manner  indicated  in 
the  above  Report,  as  soon  as  the  sum  of  $125,000  can  be 
added  to  its  present  funds." 

The  report  made  a  stir  throughout  the  country.  And  yet 
it  contained  little  or  nothing  that  was  new  in  theory.  Dr. 
Wayland  had  himself  presented  the  kernel  of  the  matter  in 
his  report  to  the  fellows  in  1841,  containing  the  follow- 
ing sentence:  "It  is  the  opinion  of  your  committee  that  an 
effort  must  soon  be  made  by  the  more  advanced  American 
colleges  to  adapt  their  courses  to  the  different  capacities  and 
wants  of  students,  giving  to  each  officer  the  opportunity  to 
carry  his  course  of  instruction  to  as  great  a  degree  of  perfec- 
tion as  he  is  able,  fixing  certain  acquisitions  as  necessary 
to  graduation  but  making  such  arrangements  as  will  enable 
those  not  candidates  for  a  degree  to  obtain  in  the  various  de- 
partments of  knowledge  such  instruction  as  may  qualify 
them  for  the  occupations  for  which  they  were  designed." 
In  1842  he  had  covered  the  whole  ground  in  his  little  book. 
Thoughts  on  the  Present  Collegiate  System  in  the  United 
States. 

In  practice,  too,  nearly  CAcrything  that  the  report  advo- 
cated had  been  anticipated  even  in  American  colleges,  to  say 
nothing  of  European.  In  Rhode  Island  something  had  been 
done  from  early  times  to  bring  the  benefits  of  the  college  to 
the  whole  community.  In  1785  and  1786  Professor  Water- 
house  had  given  courses  of  popular  lectures  on  natural  his- 
tory, and  in  1 790  Professor  Fobes  had  given  a  similar  course 
on  natural  philosophy.  These  first  attempts  at  "university 
extension,"  although  falling  far  short  of  what  President 

[   267   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Wayland  had  in  mind,  yet  affirmed  the  principle.  The  lec- 
tures in  the  Medical  School,  under  President  Messer,  went 
farther  and  offered  to  the  community  extended  courses  of  in- 
struction in  subjects  of  practical  value.  Professor  D'Wolf, 
of  the  chair  of  chemistry,  was  authorized  by  a  vote  of 
the  Corporation  in  1822  "  to  admit  to  his  Lectures,  others 
beside  members  of  the  University,  with  the  Presidents 
approbation,"  and  other  courses  were  also  opened.  Presi- 
dent Wayland' s  reforms  swept  away  these  privileges  for 
a  time  ;  but  when  the  professors,  under  his  stimulus,  began 
to  give  lectures  to  their  classes,  the  community  was  again 
remembered.  In  the  Faculty's  report  to  the  Corporation,  in 
September,  1833,  they  inquire  "whether  it  might  not  be 
desirable  to  issue  tickets  of  admission  to  the  courses  to  be 
delivered  during  the  current  year  so  that  the  advantages  of 
the  university  might  be  more  extensively  enjoyed  by  those 
who  do  not  wish  to  attend  the  regular  recitations  "  ;  and  the 
Corporation  at  once  acquiesced.  In  1840-41  Professor  Ch ace 
gave  in  Rhode  Island  Hall  a  course  in  chemistry,  "with 
suitable  illustrations"  (says  Dr.  Wayland),  which  was 
"well  received  by  the  public."  Three  years  later  Professors 
Caswell  and  Chace  gave  lectures  on  natural  philosophy  and 
chemistry  before  the  Providence  Mechanics'  Association, 
using  by  permission  the  college  apparatus. 

Students  were  admitted  to  the  college  for  a  partial  course 
by  a  vote  of  the  Corporation  in  September,  1830,  and  by 
1846  seventy-two  special  students  in  all  had  been  in  attend- 
ance. In  that  year  an  attempt  was  made  to  attract  more 
students  to  the  partial  course.  A  committee  of  the  Faculty 
reported  in  favor  of  changing  the  name  to  "English  and 
Scientific  Course, ' '  presented  an  outline  of  study  for  one  year 
and  another  for  two  years,  and  recommended  that  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  the  course  "more  distinc[t]ly  before 

C   268   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  Public"  a  descriptive  circular  be  published  with  the  cat- 
alogue and  in  other  ways  be  "spread  through  the  commu- 
nity." The  catalogue  of  1847-48,  accordingly,  contained 
the  following  announcement: 

There  has  been  established  in  the  University,  in  connection  with  the  reg- 
ular Collegiate  Course,  an  English  and  Scientific  Course,  designed  for 
the  benefit  of  those  who  do  not  propose  to  enter  either  of  die  learned 
professions,  but  who  desire  to  prepare  themselves,  bv  a  thorough  educa- 
tion, for  some  one  of  the  more  active  emplo\inents  of  life.  This  Course 
embraces  eAery  department  of  English  stud^•  pursued  in  the  Univer- 
sity, together  with  the  se\eral  branches  of  Mathematical  and  Physical 
Science;  and  moreover,  opens  to  the  student  all  the  ad\antages  of  the 
Libran',  the  Cabinet  of  Natural  Histor\-,  and  the  Courses  of  Lectures 
on  Chemistr}',  Natural  Philosoph}',  Physics,  Intellectual  Philosophy, 
and  the  Evidences  of  Christianity .  It  is  believed  that  such  a  Course  will 
furnish  to  those  who  are  preparing  for  Mercantile  pursuits,  or  for  the 
higher  employments  of  Agriculture  and  Manufactures,  the  means  of 
securing,  at  a  moderate  expense,  an  education  specialh'  adapted  to 
their  wants.  The  Course  is  arranged  for  a  residence  of  either  one  or 
two  years,  according  to  the  wish  of  the  student. 

Between  1846  and  1849  twenty-two  students  had  entered 
the  course. 

There  is  evidence  that  at  first  President  Wayland  was 
not  in  favor  of  a  broad  elective  system.  In  1831  he  wrote 
to  the  father  of  a  student  who  had  failed  in  mathematics : 
"The  literar}'  world  requires  a  knowledge  of  some  portion 
of  mathematics  [as  essential?]  to  a  liberal  education,  and 
college  discipline  requires  that  the  ultimate  decision  upon 
what  shall  be  studied,  rest  somewhere  else  than  in  the 
student  himself;  at  least,  till  the  millenium  approach  some- 
what near."  The  elective  principle  was,  however,  given 
limited  recognition  in  the  curriculum  for  many  years,  the 
students  being  allowed  a  choice  between  calculus  and 
Greek,  or  Hebrew  and  Greek,  or  Hebrew  and  French,  and 

C   26-9   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

sometimes  between  German  and  logic  or  rhetoric ;  but  in 
all  this  there  was,  of  course,  no  vital  application  of  the 
principle. 

At  Harvard  University  the  principle  of  elective  studies 
had  received  much  more  ample  recognition.  In  1824  Judge 
Story,  as  chairman  of  a  committee  of  the  Board  of  Overseers, 
made  a  report  recommending,  "  That  the  College  studies 
shall  be  divided  into  two  classes  ;  the  first  embracing  all  such 
studies  as  shall  be  indispenable  to  obtain  a  degree ;  the  sec- 
ond, such  in  respect  to  which  the  students  may,  to  a  lim- 
ited extent,  exercise  a  choice  which  they  will  pursue."  New 
statutes  based  on  this  report  went  into  effect  in  1826;  they 
allowed  students,  after  the  first  third  of  the  freshman  year, 
to  substitute  modern  languages  for  certain  specified  courses 
in  Greek,  Ladn,  topography,  Hebrew,  and  natural  science, 
and  in  the  fourth  year  to  take  natural  philosophy  in  place  of 
a  part  of  the  course  in  mental  philosophy.  It  was  only  in  the 
department  of  modern  languages  that  much  range  of  choice 
was  possible,  but  there  the  results  were  very  satisfactory.  In 
1838  mathematics  was  made  elective  after  the  freshman 
year,  and  natural  history,  civil  history,  chemistry,  geogra- 
phy and  the  use  of  the  globes,  Greek,  or  Latin  might  be 
taken  instead.  A  similar  provision  was  made  the  next  year 
in  regard  to  Greek  and  Latin.  In  1841  the  Faculty  adopted  a 
new  scheme:  in  the  freshman  year  all  the  subjects — mathe- 
matics, Greek,  Latin,  history  —  were  required ;  in  thesopho- 
more  year  English  grammar  and  composition,  rhetoric  and 
declamation,  a  modern  language,  and  history  were  required, 
while  electives  were  allowed  from  ten  subjects;  a  similar 
choice  was  granted  in  the  last  two  years.  Even  in  this  lim- 
ited form  the  elective  system  aroused  opposition  in  the  Fac- 
ulty, and  in  1846  a  compromise  was  reached.  "  It  allowed 
every  Senior,"  says  President  Eliot,  "to  select  three  from 

[   270   ] 


HISTORY  OF   HROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  following  studies,  namely,  Greek,  Latin,  mathematics, 
German,  Spanish,  and  Italian,  and  every  Junior  to  select 
three  from  the  same  studies,  Italian  excepted.  All  other 
studies  were  prescribed."  In  April,  1850,  the  month  after 
President  Wayland  read  his  report,  further  restrictions  were 
adopted  at  Harvard;  the  juniors  and  seniors  were  allowed 
only  one  elective  a  year,  and  the  time  thus  saved  was  given 
to  required  subjects. 

The  introduction  of  elective  studies  at  Harvard  Univer- 
sity seems  to  have  been  due  partly  to  the  influence  of  a  far 
more  radical  scheme  in  the  University  of  Virginia,  which 
was  organized  on  principles  conceived  by  the  liberal  mind 
of  its  first  rector,  Thomas  Jefferson.  Professor  Ticknor,  a 
leader  in  the  movement  at  Harvard,  had  been  for  years  the 
friend  and  correspondent  of  Jefferson,  who  offiered  him  a  pro- 
fessorship in  the  new  institution.  Writing  to  him  on  July  16, 
1823,  Jefferson  said :  "  I  am  not  fully  informed  of  the  prac- 
tices at  Harvard,  but  there  is  one  from  which  we  shall  cer- 
tainly vary,  although  it  has  been  copied,  I  believe,  by  nearly 
every  college  and  academy  in  the  United  States.  That  is, 
the  holding  the  students  all  to  one  prescribed  course  of  read- 
ing, and  disallowing  exclusive  application  to  those  branches 
only  which  are  to  qualify  them  for  the  particular  vocations 
to  which  they  are  destined.  We  shall,  on  the  contrary,  allow 
them  uncontrolled  choice  in  the  lectures  they  shall  choose  to 
attend."  When  the  University  of  Virginia  was  opened  in 
the  spring  of  1825,  it  offered  instruction  in  seven  separate 

schools ' '  —  ancient  languages,  modern  languages,  math- 
ematics, natural  philosophy,  natural  history,  anatomy  and 
medicine,  and  moral  philosophy  ;  others  were  added  later. 
There  was  no  fixed  curriculum ;  students  were  given  entire 
freedom  of  choice,  although  to  get  a  degree  they  must  pass 
the  examinations  in  certain  schools. 

C   271    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

How  far  President  Wayland  was  indebted  to  the  experi- 
ments at  Harvard  University  and  the  University  of  Virginia 
it  is  not  possible  to  say.  He  must  have  had  personal  know- 
ledge of  what  had  been  attempted  at  the  former;  and,  further- 
more, his  report  of  1850  quotes  from  a  pamphlet  published 
in  1825  by  Professor  Ticknor,  Remarks  on  Changes  Lately 
Proposed  or  Adopted .,  in  Haiuard  University^  which  sets  forth 
most  of  Way  land's  leading  ideas — the  need  of  an  elective 
system,  the  call  of  modern  life  for  more  varied  and  practi- 
cal education,  and  the  benefits  of  paying  professors  partly 
by  student  fees.  But  the  Harvard  system  was  fundamentally 
defective  in  keeping  so  many  prescribed  courses  that  the  stu- 
dent's energies  were  dissipated  among  a  host  of  unrelated 
subjects.  Dr.  Wayland  pointed  this  out  in  his  report;  and 
President  Eliot  confirms  the  criticism,  saying  of  the  Harvard 
plan  of  1846,  "In  trying  to  include  the  elements  of  the  vari- 
ous new  subjects  which  were  pressing  for  admittance  into  the 
old  curriculum  of  classics,  mathematics,  and  metaphysics, 
the  Faculty  had  overloaded  the  student  and  restricted  him 
to  superficial  attainments." 

There  is  litde  direct  evidence  that  before  1850  President 
Wayland  was  acquainted  with  the  system  at  the  University 
of  Virginia.  Professor  Ticknor's  pamphlet  contains  this  ref- 
erence to  it:  "It  were  to  be  wished,  indeed,  that  the  choice  [of 
studies]  could  be  left  without  limitation,  and  that  the  period 
passed  at  College  could  be  thus  more  intimately  connected 
with  the  remainder  of  life,  and  rendered  more  directly  use- 
ful to  it ;  but  this,  perhaps,  is  not  yet  possible  with  us,  though 
it  is  actually  doing  in  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  will 
soon,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  be  considered  indispensable  in  all  our 
more  advanced  colleges."  Dr.  Wayland  probably  had  read 
this  statement ;  but  there  is  no  way  of  determining  whether 
it  had  come  to  his  notice  before  the  main  oudines  of  his  own 

[    272    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

plan  had  taken  shape,  in  1842,  and  in  any  case  it  uould 
give  him  no  knowledge  of  the  details  of  the  Virginian  sys- 
tem. The  relation  in  1850  is  clearer.  In  the  archives  of  the 
university  is  a  letter  of  February  27, 1850,  from  Alexan- 
der Duncan,  a  trustee,  to  President  Wayland,  telling  m  hen 
he  can  go  with  him  to  the  University  of  Virginia  and  im- 
plying that  their  intention  had  been  to  go  earlier;  and  in 
the  minutes  of  the  Committee  of  Advice  is  a  record  that  the 
President  asked  permission,  on  March  1 ,  to  be  absent  when- 
ever he  might  find  it  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  ' '  obtain- 
ing information  in  respect  to  the  proposed  change  in  the  col- 
lege curriculum. "But  the  visit  was  delayed  until  after  the 
reading  of  the  report  on  March  28  ;  at  some  time  between 
that  date  and  May  7,  Dr.  W^ayland  went  to  the  University 
of  Virginia,  accompanied  by  Zachariah  Allen,  a  trustee  of 
Brown  University. ' '  The  result  of  his  observation, "  say  his 
biographers,  "so  far  as  it  related  to  the  practicability  and 
efficacy  of  the  system,  was  highly  favorable. "  But  although 
this  visit  doubtless  gave  him  added  confidence  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  report,  it  shows  that \;hen  he  wrote  the  report 
his  acquaintance  with  the  Southern  institution  was  imper- 
fect. It  is  also  noteworthy  that  both  in  1842  and  in  1850 
he  makes  not  the  slightest  reference  to  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia. Yet  the  two  plans  are  so  like  that  there  must  have 
been  some  connection  betM'een  them .  The  resemblance  is 
not  confined  to  fundamental  matters  already  mentioned,  but 
extends  to  details  peculiar  to  the  Virginian  and  the  Brow  n 
systems:  in  each  the  principal  degree  was  that  of  Master 
of  Arts,  the  degree  of  Baclielor  of  Arts  being  of  secondary 
importance ;  and  each  ignored  the  time  element  in  conferring 
degrees,  which  were  granted  solely  on  the  basis  of  attain- 
ments in  certain  groups  of  subjects.  The  degree  of  Bach- 
elor of  Philosophy,  however,  m  as  at  this  time  peculiar  to 

C   273   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  Brown  plan,  which  was  also  unique  in  some  other  re- 
spects. 

Whatever  may  have  been  President  Wayland's  final  debt 
to  the  University  of  Virginia  and  to  Harvard  University, 
his  first  impulse  toward  a  radical  change  in  educational  pol- 
icy seems  to  have  come  from  the  universities  of  Great  Britain. 
Before  his  visit  to  Europe  his  letters,  reports,  and  addresses 
contain  no  suggestion  of  fundamental  reform ;  upon  his  re- 
turn he  began  at  once  to  agitate  the  question.  His  report  to 
the  fellows  in  1841  made  many  comparisons  with  the  Eng- 
lish universities.  His  radical  review  of  the  American  collegi- 
ate system,  in  1842,  contrasts  the  superficiality  of  its  course 
of  study  with  the  depth  of  the  English,  and  urges  the  elective 
principle  as  a  cure.  In  the  report  of  1850  are  similar  com- 
parisons. In  short,  although  he  did  not  wish  to  copy  their 
methods  as  a  whole,  the  English  universities  seem  to  have 
set  him  to  thinking  how  to  secure  their  thoroughness.  This 
view,  based  on  Wayland's  written  or  printed  words,  is 
confirmed  by  the  opinion  of  President  James  B.  Angell,  a 
member  of  the  Faculty  when  the  New  System  went  into 
effect,  who  in  a  recent  interview  attributed  Dr.  Wayland's 
discontent  with  the  old  system  to  his  study  of  the  univer- 
sities of  Great  Britain. 

There  were  several  reasons  for  the  effect  of  striking  nov- 
elty in  the  doctrines  of  President  Wayland's  report,  and  for 
the  wide  sensation  it  made.  The  yet  more  liberal  system 
in  the  University  of  Virginia  was  almost  unknown  in  the 
North,  doubtless  because  of  the  widening  chasm  between 

^  In  the  archives  are  two  examination  papers  in  mathematics,  set  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia  in  June,  1849,  with  explanations  of  the  system  of  written 
examinations  there.  On  the  back  of  one  paper  is  written  in  Wayland's  hand, 
"  Examinations  in  Minor  Mathematics  in  Univy  of  Virginia."  It  seems  likely 
that  the  documents  were  received  after  the  New  System  had  been  adopted, 
when  its  details  were  being  worked  out. 

C  274  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  two  sections;  Dr.  Way  land's  monograph  of  1842  had 
attracted  little  notice ;  and  the  system  that  he  proposed  in 
1850  was  far  more  radical  than  the  one  in  force  at  Harvard. 
Furthermore,  the  report  of  1 850  was  not  a  mere ' '  academic ' ' 
discussion,  but  an  actual  program  for  a  well-known  college. 
It  was  also  a  trenchant  criticism  of  the  collegiate  system 
of  the  United  States ;  it  struck  the  democratic  note  strongly 
in  its  plea  for  an  education  that  would  fit  the  needs  of  all 
classes ;  and  it  sought  to  bring  lecture-room  and  laboratory 
into  vital  relations  with  the  material  welfare  of  an  immense 
new  country  awaiting  development.  The  last  two  features 
won  it  popular  favor  at  once.  The  newspapers  greeted  with 
applause  the  New^  Education  that  was  to  leave  the  cloister 
and  walk  among  modern  men  at  their  daily  toil.  Merchants, 
manufacturers,  farmers,  artisans,  legislators  all  saw  some- 
thing worth  while  in  this  "practical"  form  of  instruction. 
The  archives  of  the  university  contain  many  communi- 
cations expressing  interest  in  the  new  plan  and  opinions 
about  it.  Some  of  them  antedate  the  reading  of  the  report, 
affording  proof  that  the  Corporation  sounded  the  feeling 
of  the  community  and  of  influential  men  elsewhere  before 
making  the  plan  public.  Barnas  Sears,  then  secretary  of  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  wrote  on  December  1 7, 
1849,  giving  his  hearty  approval  and  saying  that  Brown 
University  must  take  such  action  to  keep  its  hold  on  Massa- 
chusetts. George  R.  Russell,  of  the  class  of  1821,  who  had 
read  the  report  in  manuscript,  wrote  on  January  31,  1850: 
"I  believe  that  it  will  create  a  great  sensation  among  those 
who  have  longed  for  this  very  thing.  .  .  .  We  have  gone 
along  on  a  jog  trot,  in  a  path  worn  by  our  Fathers,  .  .  .  and 
if  we  have  found  any  thing  sticking  to  us  at  the  end  of  the 
journey  we  have  often  been  puzzled  to  know  what  to  do  with 
it  in  the  active  struggle  of  life."  The  Rhode  Island  Gen- 

[   275   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

eral  Assembly,  at  the  January  session,  passed  the  following 
vote:  ''Resolved^  That  this  General  Assembly  heartily  ap- 
prove the  plan  of  education  presented  to  this  Assembly  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  Wayland,  and  proposed  to  be  adopted 
in  Brown  University ;  and  that  the  members  of  this  Assem- 
bly will  exert  themselves  to  the  end  that  said  plan  may  be 
carried  into  successful  operation."  The  Providence  Asso- 
ciation of  Mechanics  and  Manufacturers  reported  on  Feb- 
ruary 21  unanimously  in  favor  of  the  new  plan,  because 
it  w^ould  open  higher  education  to  a  class  now  "almost  en- 
tirely "  precluded,  and  would  advance  the  useful  arts.  The 
Franklin  Society,  in  a  committee's  report  of  February  26, 
sounded  a  note  of  caution:  "We  fear  that  if  these  sciences 
were  studied  and  taught  only  so  as  to  answer  the  demands 
of  the  industrial  pursuits  of  this  countr}^,  and  the  know- 
ledge were  valued  only  as  so  much  capital  in  business,  many 
important  branches  would  be  neglected." 

After  the  report  had  been  published,  letters  about  it  came 
in  from  many  quarters.  George  S.  Boutwell,  a  leader  in  the 
Massachusetts  legislature,  writing  to  Wayland  on  April  22, 
said  :  "  It  cannot  fail  to  have  a  marked  effect  on  the  colleges 
of  New  England  and  the  whole  country.  I  could  not  give 
the  views  you  have  so  well  expressed  as  prominent  a  place 
in  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Harvard  College  as  I 
desired,  on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  session,  and  the 
necessity  of  preparing  the  report  without  farther  delay.  In 
the  debate,  however,  we  shall  derive  great  aid  from  them." 
University  officials  generally  favored  the  plan.  Professor 
C.  Mason,  of  the  University  of  New  York,  besides  giving  his 
own  enthusiastic  indorsement,  quoted  Professor  Draper  as 
saying  to  him,  "Here  is  a  clear  expression  of  what  you  and 
I  have  been  saying  for  many  j^ears,  and  vainly  endeavoring 
to  impress  on  the  authorities  of  our  struggling  and  sink- 

[   276   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ing  university. ' '  Professor  Mason  asked  for  a  hundred  copies 
of  die  report  for  distribution  among  university  trustees  in 
New  York  State. Certain  gentlemen  in  Rochester,  New  York, 
wrote  to  Wayland,  asking  him  to  become  the  head  of  a  new- 
university  on  the  new  plan,  for  which  $70,000  had  already 
been  raised.  Dr.  LeonardBacon,of  New  Haven,  wrote :"  Al- 
low me  to  say  that  you  have  spoken  a  word  which  needed 
to  be  spoken.  ...  I  have  already,  &  for  many  months  past, 
expressed  to  my  friend  Pres.  Woolsey,  &  to  other  younger 
members  of  our  college  faculty,  opinions  so  nearly  related 
to  those  which  you  have  now  published,  that  it  would  not 
surprise  me  if  I  should  be  suspected  of  having  been  in  com- 
munication with  you  on  the  subject."  Professor  A.  C.  Ken- 
drick,  of  Madison  (now  Colgate)  University,  while  agreeing 
with  the  general  principles,  regretted  "  the  utilitarian  tone  of 
the  Report,"  thinking  the  "useful  arts" overemphasized  in 
it.  From  Illinois  came  a  letter  from  a  farmer,  once  a  "self- 
educated  teacher,"  giving  his  approval  of  the  new  ideas. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Hague,  a  trustee,  sent  word  from  New  Jersey 
that  most  men  whom  he  had  talked  with  were  in  favor  of 
the  plan,  but  that  the  Hon.  William  Frelinghuysen  thought 
it  "too  revolutionary."  President  Nott,  of  Union  College, 
wrote  that  he  wished  his  old  pupil  success,  partly,  he  added, 
because  "we  are  already  committed,  in  favour  of  a  similar 
course." 

The  magazines  were  more  conservative.  The  New  Eng- 
lander^  in  August,  1850,  asserted  that  culture  courses  had 
been  proved  to  be  good  preparation  for  active  life,  in  the 
United  States  and  in  England;  and  it  expressed  a  fear  "that 
the  partial  courses  will  become  so  popular,  that  the  full 
course  will  be  in  a  great  measure,  if  not  wholly,  deserted." 
The  North  American  Review  of  January,  1851,  said  of  the 
elective  system  as  outlined  by  President  Wayland :  "This 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

is  certainly  a  bold  innovation.  We  have  great  doubt  whether 
it  be  practicable,  or,  if  practicable,  whether  it  will  be  a 
useful  measure;  and  none  at  all,  that  it  will,  if  thoroughly 
put  in  practice,  be  a  most  cosdy  one." 

On  the  whole  the  response  to  the  report  was  a  strong 
encouragement  to  proceed.  Meanwhile  subscription  papers 
had  been  passing  around ;  and  when  the  Corporation  met 
on  May  7,  1850,  the  Finance  Committee  reported  that 
$77,000  had  been  subscribed,  and  that  $10,000  more  was 
practically  pledged.  Thereupon  the  Corporation  passed  the 
resolution  recommended  in  March,  "That  the  System  of 
Instruction  in  Brown  University  be  modified  and  extended 
in  the  manner  indicated  in  the  above  Reports  as  soon  as  the 
sum  of  $125,000  can  be  added  to  its  present  funds."  They 
also  appointed  a  committee  of  twelve,  besides  the  President, 
to  carry  the  proposed  changes  into  effect. 

Seven  persons,  John  Carter  Brown,  Alexander  Dun- 
can, Mrs.  Hope  Ives,  Mrs.  C.  R.  Goddard,  Moses  Brown 
Ives,  Robert  H.  Ives,  and  Horatio  N.  Slater,  had  subscribed 
$65,000  on  condition  that  $60,000  more  should  be  pledged 
by  September  5.  On  August  6  the  Committee  of  Thirteen 
published  an  appeal,in  The  Providence  Journal^  saying  that  if 
the  subscription  were  not  completed , ' '  the  whole  design  must 
fail  and  the  University  very  soon  be  closed  forever,"  but 
expressing  confidence  in  ' '  the  liberality  of  their  fellow  citi- 
zens." The  confidence  was  justified.  On  September  4  the 
committee  reported  that  the  sum  of  $125,000  was  so  nearly 
subscribed  that  they  were  willing  to  assume  responsibility 
for  the  deficiency  ;  the  total  finally  pledged  was  $127,995. 
The  long  list  of  those  who  came  to  the  university's  aid 
at  this  crisis  contains  many  names  well  known  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  city  and  state ;  Dr.  Way  land  gave  $1000,^  and 

*  Dr.  Wayland's  large  subscriptions  on  various  occasions  have  given  some  the 

C  278   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Professors  Caswell,  Chace,  and  Gammell  contributed  lib- 
erall^^ 

The  President's  resignation  had  thus  brought  about  a 
sudden  change  in  the  prospects  of  the  institution,  and  the 
future  now  seemed  bright.  But  the  task  of  translating  an 
ideal  into  fact  was  a  difficult  one.  The  Committee  of  Thir- 
teen invited  members  of  the  Faculty  to  deliberate  with  their 
sub-committees  in  working  out  the  details  of  the  New  Sys- 
tem, which  was  finally  adopted,  according  to  Professor  Lin- 
coln, only  after  "much  agitated  discussion  in  the  Faculty." 
The  result  of  the  joint  labors  of  the  committee  and  the 
Faculty,  with  President  Wayland  as  the  master  hand,  may 
be  seen  in  the  Laws  of  1850,  enacted  on  August  1.  These 
provided  that  courses  should  be  given  in  Latin,  Greek, 
modern  languages,  mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  civil 
engineering,  chemistry  and  physiology,  English,  moral  and 
intellectual  philosophy,  history  and  political  economy,  di- 
dactics, application  of  chemistry  to  the  arts,  and  theory 
and  practice  of  agriculture.  This  list  greatly  enlarged  the 
former  curriculum,  chiefly  in  science  and  its  applications. 
A  law  school  w  as  to  be  established  as  soon  as  the  funds 
allowed. 

The  most  radical  provisions  had  todo  with  degrees.  These 
were  to  be  Bachelor  of  Philosophy,  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and 
Master  of  Arts.  The  first  was  a  new  degree  ;  the  other  two 
were  now  to  be  given  on  new  conditions.  "  The  Degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts, ' '  say  the  laws, ' '  is  designed  especially  for 
those  who  desire  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  different 
professions,  and  yet,  from  unavoidable  circumstances,  are 

impression  that  he  had  ample  means.  But  in  a  letter  of  1843  he  said  that  he 
had  only  $7000,  exclusive  of  copyrights,  and  that  his  wife's  property  was 
"not  large  by  any  means"  ;  the  year  before  he  had  given  away  all  his  income 
but  $200,  besides  $1000  of  his  capital. 

C   279   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

unable  to  pursue  a  complete  course  of  liberal  education.  In 
order  to  render  it  accessible  to  such  students,  the  number  of 
studies  is  limited,  and  a  large  liberty  of  choice  is  granted, 
that  they  may  be  enabled  to  select  such  studies  as  will  the 
better  enable  them  to  prepare  themselves  for  a  particular 
profession . ' '  Candidates  for  this  degree  must  pass  entrance 
examinations  in  arithmetic,  ancient  and  modern  geography, 
English  grammar  and  the  use  of  the  English  language,  the 
Greek  reader  or  an  equivalent  in  some  Greek  author,  the 
j^neid,  Caesar's  Commentaries^  six  orations  of  Cicero,  and 
Greek  and  Latin  composition.  These  requirements  were 
those  that  had  prevailed  for  years,  with  the  notable  omission 
of  algebra ;  this  was  restored  the  next  year,  but  at  the  same 
time  students  intending  to  pursue  only  one  ancient  language 
in  college  were  excused  from  the  entrance  examination  in 
the  other.  To  get  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  the  can- 
didate "must  have  attained  the  rank  of  proficiency  \j.e.^ 
above  twenty-five  per  cent]  in  either  of  the  following  classes 
of  studies  " :  1 .  Two  ancient  languages  for  two  years,  math- 
ematics for  two  years,  English  literature  and  two  other 
courses  of  one  year ;  2.  One  ancient  language  for  two  years, 
two  modern  languages,  mathematics  for  two  years,  English 
literature  and  two  other  courses  of  one  year ;  3 .  One  ancient 
language  for  two  years,  mathematics  for  one  year,  one  mod- 
ern language,  English  literature  and  four  other  courses  of 
one  year.  In  other  words,  the  candidate  had  his  choice  among 
three  groups  of  courses,  ranging  from  a  maximum  of  an- 
cient languages  and  mathematics,  to  a  minimum  of  these 
and  a  maximum  of  modern  languages  and  miscellaneous 
subjects.  To  get  a  degree  the  candidate  had  finally,  at  the 
end  of  his  whole  course,  to  be  examined  in  three  of  the  stud- 
ies in  which  he  had  already  proved  himself ' '  proficient ' '  by 
the  daily  recitations  and  term  examinations. 

C   280   J 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Candidates  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy  were 
to  be  admitted  to  college  after  passing  examinations  in  arith- 
metic, ancient  and  modern  geography,  and  English  gram- 
mar and  the  use  of  the  English  language,  with  the  addition ,  in 
1851-52,  of  algebra  as  far  as  quadratics.  To  get  the  degree 
candidates  must  obtain  testimonials  of  proficiency  in  the  fol- 
lowing studies  :  Two  modern  languages,  mathematics  of  tw  o 
years,  English  literature,  and  three  other  courses  of  one  year 
each.  Natural  philosophy  was  allowed  as  a  substitute  for 
mathematics  of  the  second  year ;  and  a  course  of  two  years 
in  agriculture,  or  in  science  applied  to  the  arts,  or  in  chem- 
istry applied  to  the  arts,  might  be  taken  in  place  of  the 
two-year  course  in  mathematics  and  one  modern  language. 
The  candidates  must  be  examined,  at  the  end,  in  three  of 
the  subjects  in  w  hich  they  were  proficients.  The  following 
statement  is  significant:  "  It  is  the  design  of  the  Corpora- 
tion to  require  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  and  of  Phi- 
losophy, an  amount  of  study  which  may  be  accomplished 
in  three  years,  but  which  may,  if  he  pleases,  occupy  the 
student  profitably  for  four  years." 

The  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  had  hitherto  been  given  by 
Brown  University,  as  by  most  other  American  colleges, ' '  in 
course,  "to  any  Bachelor  of  Arts  of  three  years'  standing, 
who  was  of  good  moral  character  and  who  paid  the  fees. 
In  most  cases,  however,  the  candidate  had  been  pursuing 
professional  studies  since  graduation.  The  new  conditions 
deserve  quoting  in  full : 

The  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  is  intended  for  those  students  who 
desire  to  pursue  a  full  course  of  liberal  education.  In  order  to  become 
a  candidate  for  this  degree,  the  student  must  have  obtained  certificates 
of  proficiency  in  the  following  courses  of  instruction:  — 

In  the  Ancient  Languages  for  two  years,  in  one  Modem  I^an- 
guage  for  one  year,  in  the  Mathematics  of  two  years,  in  Natural 

C    281    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Philosophy,  English  Language  and  Rhetoric,  Chemistn'  and  Physi- 
ology, Histoiy  and  Political  Econom)',  Intellectual  and  Moral  Phi- 
losophy. 

He  must  also  be  examined  in  the  Ancient  Languages,  in  Natural 
Philosophy,  and  in  three  other  studies  of  the  course,  to  be  selected  by 
the  Faculty;  and  he  shall  not  be  entitled  to  a  degree  unless  his  answers 
attain  to  25  per  cent,  of  the  maximum  established  by  the  Faculty.  The 
examination  in  the  Ancient  Languages  shall  include  one  author  in 
Latin  and  one  in  Greek,  which  has  not  been  read  by  the  class  in  the 
regular  course  of  instruction. 

The  candidate  for  this  degree  may  be  allowed  to  substitute  a  third 
year  in  an  Ancient  Language  for  a  second  in  Mathematics,  or  a  third 
year  in  Mathematics  for  a  second  in  an  Ancient  Language ;  or  to  sub- 
stitute one  ModeiTi  Language  for  a  year  in  an  Ancient  Language,  or 
for  a  year  in  Mathematics. 

It  is  the  design  of  the  Corporation  ...  to  require  for  the  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts  an  amount  of  study  which  moy  be  accomplished  in 
four  years,  but  which,  if  generously  pursued,  may  occupy  the  student 
with  advantage  a  considerably  longer  time. 

This  course  was  almost  identical  in  quantity  with  that  pre- 
viously required  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts ;  the  only 
difference  was  that  the  student  was  now  expected  to  read  a 
certain  amount  of  Greek  and  Latin  by  himself,  and  on  the 
other  hand  was  excused  from  courses  of  one  term  each  in 
astronomy,  evidences  of  Christianity,  Butler's  Analogy ^g^- 
ology,  and  the  American  Constitution  ;  he  had  also  to  stand 
a  final  examination  in  five  of  the  subjects,  in  addition  to  the 
term  examinations.  Unless  the  outside  reading  in  Latin  and 
Greek  was  considerable  (and  we  shall  see  that  it  was  not), 
the  total  amount  of  work  required  for  the  Master's  degree 
was  not  more  than  that  formerly  required  for  the  Bachelor's 
degree. 

It  is  disappointing,  even  humiliating,  that  a  scheme  of 
reform  which  set  out  to  cure  superficiality  in  collegiate  edu- 
cation, and  raise  the  standard  of  scholarship,  should  have 

[   282   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

resulted  in  degrading  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  which 
had  at  least  stood  for  a  certain  mental  maturity,  in  giving 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  for  one  fourth  less  work  than 
before,  and  in  creating  a  new  collegiate  degree  which  might 
be  won  by  persons  entering  college  with  little  more  than  a 
common-school  education .  Thedisappointment  is  the  greater 
because  the  elective  system,  and  the  infusion  of  a  larger 
amount  of  the  scientific  and  practical  into  the  curriculum, 
did  not  at  all  necessitate  any  lowering  of  standards,  as  Pres- 
ident Wayland  had  himself  affirmed  in  his  treatise  of  1842. 
Options  among  the  old  subjects  might  have  been  allowed 
freely,  and  new  subjects  might  have  been  freely  admitted, 
without  making  the  requirements  for  entrance  a  whit  less 
severe  or  lessening  by  an  hour  the  amount  of  study  required 
for  a  degree.  Why  were  not  modern  languages  or  more 
mathematics  demanded,  in  place  of  the  omitted  ancient  lan- 
guages, for  admission  to  the  Bachelor  of  Philosophy  course? 
Why  were  not  four  years  of  study  in  college  required  for 
that  degree  and  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts?  Why  was 
not  a  fifth  year  made  a  requisite  for  the  Master  of  Arts  de- 
gree? The  report  of  March  28  and  the  new  laws  show  that 
there  can  be  but  one  answer :  the  President  wished  to  spread 
the  benefits  of  collegiate  education  more  widely  among  the 
people,  and  he  wished  to  see  more  students  paying  tuition 
into  the  treasury  of  Brown  University.  To  what  extent  the 
democratic  motive  dominated  the  pecuniary  it  is  impossible 
to  decide,  but  doubtless  each  was  sincere  and  powerful.  It 
will  be  seen  later  how  far  the  New  System  brought  higher 
education  to  the  masses,  and  how  far  it  brought  lower 
education  into  the  college.  The  increase  in  numbers  during 
the  rest  of  Wayland's  presidency  is  shown  by  the  following 
table : 

[   283   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 


1850-51 

1851-52 

1852-53 

1853-54 

1854-55 

Total  number 

174 

225 

240 

283 

252 

Candidates  for  A.M. 

118 

119 

126 

119 

Candidates  for  A.B. 

174 

33 

43 

48 

42 

Candidates  for  Ph.B. 

19 

27 

25 

16 

Select  course 

55 

51 

84 

75 

How  much  of  the  increase  was  due  to  the  New  System  and 
how  much  to  the  advertising  that  the  college  had  received, 
is  a  question.  The  elective  system  attracted  very  few  more 
candidates  for  the  degrees  of  A.M.  and  A.B.  than  had 
formerly  been  in  attendance  as  candidates  for  the  degree 
of  A.B.  alone.  Nearly  all  the  additional  students  took 
advantage  of  the  easier  terms  of  admission  to  college. 

The  Laws  of  1850  made  other  important  changes.  They 
created  an  Executive  Board  of  nine  members  to  be  chosen 
from  the  Corporation,  three  being  elected  each  year  to  serve 
for  three  years  ;  the  president  was  subsequently  made  chair- 
man. This  board  was  given  large  powers  in  administer- 
ing the  affairs  of  the  university,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  Corporation ;  and  the  president  and  professors  were 
required  to  submit  reports  to  it  at  its  monthly  meetings.  The 
Faculty  were  directed  to  meet  weekly,  and  to  keep  a  per- 
manent record  of  their  doings.  It  was  proposed  that  each 
professor's  salary  should  be  supplemented  by  "the  avails 
of  the  tickets  for  admission  to  his  class,"  the  purchase  of 
tickets  taking  the  place  of  payment  for  tuition ;  but  this  plan 
was  never  fully  carried  out.  "Wherever  the  nature  of  the 
subject  admits  of  it,"  say  the  laws,  "the  teaching  will  be 
by  lecture  and  examination,  with  reference  to  text  books 
and  collateral  authorities,  accompanied  by  the  writing  of 
essays  and  exercises,  and  the  solution  of  problems."  The 
class-room  period  was  to  be  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes, 
unless  the  Executive  Board  directed  otherwise;  at  least 

I   284   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

twenty  minutes  were  to  be  given  to  questions  on  the  review 
and  on  assigned  reading ; ' '  ten  minutes  of  recreation ' '  were 
to  follow  each  period.  Term  examinations  and  final  exam- 
inations for  degrees  were  to  be  chiefly  written,  but  an  oral 
examination  would  be  given  in  connection  with  each  written 
one  ;  the  examination  of  each  class  was  to  be  in  the  charge 
of  a  committee  consisting  of  its  teacher,  another  professor, 
and  members  appointed  by  the  Executive  Board.  Three 
terms  gave  way  to  two  —  the  first  commencing  on  the  first 
Friday  of  September  and  continuing  twenty  weeks,  to  be 
followed  by  a  recess  of  four  weeks ;  the  second  commencing 
on  the  fourth  Friday  of  February  and  continuing  twenty 
weeks,  to  be  followed  by  a  recess  of  eight  ^\•eeks.  Com- 
mencement was  changed  to  the  second  Wednesday  of  July. 
The  laws  also  set  forth  certain  high  ideals  for  the  con- 
duct of  courses,  which  may  be  illustrated  by  a  few  extracts : 

Latin  and  Greek.  "  It  will  be  the  AnVy  of  the  Professors  in  this 
department  not  to  confine  themselves  to  gramatical  anaU'sis,  but  to 
advance  to  the  higher  principles  of  interpretation,  and  cultivate  in  the 
student  a  taste  for  classical  beauty  and  an  acquaintance  with  the  phases 
of  civilization,  the  modes  of  thought  and  the  leading  political  e\'ents 
to  which  these  writings  relate." 

Modern  Languages.  "  French,  German,  Spanish  and  Italian  shall 
be  taught.  In  the  early  part  of  the  course,  it  shall  be  the  object  of  the 
Professor  to  communicate  a  critical  knowledge  of  the  language,  in 
order  to  enable  the  student  to  use  it  as  a  means  of  investigation.  As 
the  course  advances,  instruction  will  be  given  in  the  literature  of  the 
language." 

Mathematics.  "  It  is  the  design  of  the  corporation  that  this  study  be 
so  taught  as  to  strengthen  in  the  best  manner  the  reasoning  faculty  of 
the  student,  cultivate  the  power  of  original  demonstration,  and  ren- 
der him  familiar  with  the  application  of  mathematical  theorems  to  the 
practical  business  of  life." 

Natural  Philosophy.  "The  solution  of  problems  will  ...  be  re- 
quired, and  it  is  expected  they  will  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  accustoni 

C   285   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

him  [?.t'.,  the  student]  to  associate  these  studies  with  the  practical  busi- 
ness ot  lite." 

Civil  Engineering.  "It  is  intended  that  it  [i.e.,  the  instruction] 
shall  be  accompanied  by  field  labor,  the  examination  of  structures  and 
machiner^',  and  such  attention  to  the  solution  of  problems  as  shall 
enable  the  student  in  the  best  manner  to  reduce  his  theory  to  practice." 

Chemistry  and  Physiology.  "A  private  class  will  also  be  formed 
for  instruction  in  practical  chemistry,  and  also  for  original  physio- 
logical research,  under  the  immediate  care  of  the  professor,  for  such 
students  as  desire  it." 

Application  of  Chemistry  to  the  Arts.  ""  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
professor  to  give  instruction  in  the  principles  and  practice  of  chemi- 
cal analvsis,  so  as  to  enable  the  student  to  prosecute  investigations  for 
himself.  He  will  also  explain  the  most  important  processes  in  the  arts, 
exhibiting  their  defects,  and  suggesting  the  means  by  which  they  may 
be  remedied." 

Agriculture.  "  This  course  shall  embrace  instruction  in  the  princi- 
ples and  practice  of  Agriculture ;  ...  it  shall  be  its  object  to  enable  the 
student  to  conduct  the  operations  of  agriculture  upon  scientific  and 
economical  principles,  with  special  reference,  however,  to  the  soil  and 
climate  of  this  portion  of  the  United  States." 

Didactics.  "The  course  in  Didactics  is  designed  at  present  espe- 
cially for  the  benefit  of  teachers  of  common  schools.  There  will  be  held 
two  terms  a  year  in  this  department  of  at  least  two  months  each.  It 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  professor  of  Didactics  to  review  with  the  class 
the  studies  taught  in  common  schools,  and  then  to  explain  the  manner 
of  communicating  knowledge  to  others.  The  other  professors  in  the 
University  will  be  expected  to  deliver  to  this  class  such  lectures  in  their 
several  departments  as  may  be  desired  by  the  Executive  Board." 

The  catalogue  of  1850-51  shows  that  a  beginning  had 
been  made  in  carrying  out  this  ambitious  program  of  the 
New  System.  William  A.  Norton,  a  graduate  of  West  Point 
Academy  and  for  sixteen  years  professor  in  Delaware  Col- 
lege, had  been  appointed  professor  of  civil  engineering  and 
natural  philosophy.  John  A.  Porter,  who  came  highly  rec- 
ommended by  Professors  Liebig  and  Horsford,  had  been 

[   286   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

made  professor  of  chemistry  applied  to  the  arts.  Chairs  of 
agriculture  and  didactics  had  also  been  created,  but  Mere 
not  yet  filled.  The  catalogue  stated  that  the  course  in  civil 
engineering  would  occupy  a  year  and  a  half,  and  would 
include — besides  theoretical  instruction  in  mechanics,  hy- 
draulics, and  "  Engineering  Proper" — considerable  field 
\\ork  in  surveying,  locating  a  road,  surveys  for  estimates  of 
excavation,  etc.  The  fee  for  the  course  was  $30  a  term,  in- 
stead of  $6  as  in  most  of  the  courses.  The  class  numbered 
ten  the  first  term,  and  nine  the  second.  Laboratory  instruc- 
tion in  chemistry  applied  to  the  arts  had  to  be  deferred,  as 
the  laboratory  was  not  ready.  One  was  at  length  fitted  up 
in  Rhode  Island  Hall,  at  what  seemed  a  vast  expense ;  and 
the  Executive  Board  said  at  the  end  of  the  year  that  ' '  the 
arrangements  for  the  prosecution  of  this  branch  of  study 
are  considered  as  perfect  as  those  in  any  institution  in  this 
country."  It  was  April,  however,  before  the  work  could 
begin,  and  then  a  class  of  thirteen  elected  the  course;  of 
whom ' '  the  greater  Part, ' '  said  the  President  in  his  monthly 
report,  were ' '  persons  preparing  for  the  active  duties  of  life. ' ' 
The  fee  for  instruction  was  $30  a  term,  besides  a  charge 
of  $55  for  materials  and  incidentals.  A  course  of  lectures 
on  the  application  of  chemistry  to  the  arts  had  also  been 
planned,  but  Professor  Porter  found  himself  unready  to  give 
it  the  first  winter. 

This  was  not  a  very  brilliant  beginning.  The  next  year 
showed  some  gain  in  the  civil  engineering  course,  which 
had  nineteen  students ;  but  the  class  in  chemistry  applied 
to  the  arts  numbered  only  eleven.  The  year  ended  unfortu- 
nately for  these  two  departments ;  events  which  will  be 
described  later  led  to  the  resignation  of  both  professors  at 
the  end  of  the  first  term,  and  temporary  arrangements  had 
to  be  made.  In  the  follo\A'ing  year  the  attendance  in  civil 

C   287   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

engineering  fell  to  five.  For  the  other  department,  however, 
the  Corporation  had  found  a  brilliant  man  in  their  professor 
of  chemistry,  the  versatile  George  I.  Chace.  The  laboratory- 
class  increased  slightly  under  his  direction  ;  and  he  gave  a 
series  of  popular  lectures  in  the  winter  of  1852-53,  which 
President  Wayland  described  thus  in  his  report  to  the 
Corporation:  "One  of  the  most  interesting  events  in  the 
history  of  the  University  during  the  year  has  been  the  bril- 
liant success  which  has  attended  the  labors  of  Professor 
Chace  in  the  department  of  Chemistry  applied  to  the  Arts. 
.  .  .  The  class  to  which  he  first  directed  his  attention  was 
the  workers  in  the  precious  metals.  He  visited  their  work- 
shops and  made  himself  familiar  with  the  practice  of  their 
arts  and  the  principles  on  which  it  depended.  He  then  an- 
nounced a  course  of  Lectures  on  the  Chemistry  of  the  Met- 
als. A  class  was  immediately  formed  of  more  than  330  and 
the  interest  with  which  they  listened  to  his  instructions  could 
hardly  have  been  exceeded.  At  the  close  of  the  course  they 
presented  him  with  a  splendid  piece  of  plate. "The  depart- 
ment more  than  paid  for  itself  that  year ;  and  Dr.  Wayland 
expressed  his  conviction  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  go 
forward,  adhering  firmly  to  the  new  plan  as  a  whole. 

Meanwhile  more  additions  had  been  made  to  the  Faculty. 
In  the  second  term  of  1850-51  Professor  Gammell  had  been 
transferred  to  the  newly  created  chair  of  history  and  politi- 
cal economy,  the  Rev.  Robinson  P.  Dunn  succeeding  him 
as  professor  of  rhetoric  and  English  literature.  Samuel  S. 
Greene  had  been  appointed  to  the  chair  of  didactics  in  1 85 1 , 
and  in  1852  James  B.  Angell  was  made  professor  of  mod- 
ern languages.  The  Rev.  Henry  Day  was  now  professor  of 
natural  philosophy  and  civil  engineering.  The  chair  of 
agriculture  still  remained  vacant,  however,  and  the  law 
school  was  yet  unborn.  In  1853-54  the  attendance  was  the 

[   288   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

greatest  in  the  history  of  the  college  so  far;  but  there  were 
no  additions  to  the  teaching  force  except  an  assistant  in 
chemistry.  The  follow  ing  year,  the  last  of  Dr.  Wayland's 
presidency,  the  number  of  students  declined,  and  the  pro- 
fessorships of  didactics  and  agriculture  were  both  vacant. 
Although  neither  the  elective  system  nor  the  scientific 
courses  attracted  the  large  numbers  that  had  been  so  con- 
fidently hoped  for,  the  college  had  gradually  been  finding 
a  wider  constituency,  and  the  process  was  accelerated  by 
the  New  System.  The  percentage  of  students  from  outside 
New  England  had  always  been  small:  7  in  1800-01 ;  8  in 
1810-11;  2  in  1821-22;  6  in  1831-32;  17  in  1836-37,  the 
year  of  largest  attendance  up  to  that  time ;  12  in  1841—42  ; 
22  in  1849-50,  the  last  year  under  the  old  system.  In  1851- 
52  it  was  still  only  24,  but  rose  to  28  in  1854-55  ;  and  it  is 
significant  that,  in  both  these  years,  14  per  cent  of  the  stu- 
dents came  from  the  manufacturing  and  mercantile  Mid- 
dle States.  The  percentage  from  Rhode  Island  also  gained. 
As  far  back  as  the  catalogues  go,  Massachusetts  had  always 
furnished  more  students  than  Rhode  Island  :  in  1800-01  the 
percentages  were  respectively  69  and  20;  in  1810-11,  57 
and  27;  in  1821-22,  60  and  24;  in  1831-32,  55  and  26; 
in  1836-37,  48  and  21 ;  in  1841-42,  47  and  23  ;  in  1849- 
50,  38  and  27.  In  1851-52  and  in  1854-55,  however,  the 
percentage  from  Rhode  Island  rose  to  30,  almost  equaling 
that  from  Massachusetts,  which  was  3 1 .  The  number  of  stu- 
dents from  Rhode  Island  was  40  in  1849-50,  67  in  1851- 
52,  95  in  1853-54,  and  75  in  1854-55.  This  increase, 
though  encouraging,  was  far  from  satisfactory.  Rhode  Island 
had  now  a  population  of  147,545,  of  whom  41,513  were 
in  Providence.  The  cotton  and  woolen  industries  had  grown 
enormously  in  the  last  quarter-century ;  and  the  manufac- 
ture of  tools,  machines,  and  jewelry  had  also  reached  large 

C   289   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

proportions.  The  whole  state  was  a  workshop.  It  is  not 
strange  that  so  sagacious  and  practical  a  mind  as  President 
Wayland's  felt  that  a  university  in  the  center  of  such  a 
community  should  do  far  more  than  any  other  in  America 
to  guide  the  industrial  life  all  about  it  by  the  application  of 
science  to  the  useful  arts.  But  it  is  strange  that  he  attached 
so  much  importance  to  popular  instruction,  which,  however 
brilliant  and  delightful,  could  have  no  deep  or  lasting  effect 
upon  the  practice  of  the  arts.  And  it  is  stranger  still  that 
more  of  the  young  men  of  the  state  did  not  realize  the  value 
of  thorough  scientific  education,  by  which  they  might  learn, 
in  class-room  and  laborator}^,  the  applications  of  science  to 
the  industries  they  were  to  direct.  But  they  did  not  realize  it; 
and  even  if  Brown  University  had  had  the  funds  neces- 
sary to  equip  it  adequately  for  teaching  science,  its  numbers 
at  that  time  would  doubtless  have  remained  comparatively 
small. 

In  other  respects,  too,  the  New  System  was  disappoint- 
ing. Testimony  that  the  students  were  of  inferior  quality  be- 
cause of  lower  requirements  will  be  given  in  the  next  chap- 
ter. But  even  aside  from  that,  the  results  were  unsatisfac- 
tory. It  had  been  expected  that  the  elective  system  would 
stimulate  a  truer  intellectual  life,  tending  to  transform  the 
undergraduates  from  schoolboys  conning  tasks  into  uni- 
versity men  studying  great  subjects.  But  no  such  effect 
was  apparent.  Where,  indeed,  were  the  forces  adequate  to 
produce  such  a  result?  The  range  of  electives  was  narrow 
from  the  first,  and  after  1852-53  it  was  further  restricted. 
In  1851-53  candidates  for  the  degrees  of  A.B.  and  Ph.B. 
might  elect  four  of  the  nine  requisite  year-courses,  but  after 
that  only  two;  while  for  the  degree  of  A.M.  nine  of  the 
twelve  courses  were  prescribed.  But  if  all  the  studies  had 
been  elective,  the  result  would  have  been  much  the  same, 

[   290   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

for  the  courses  offered  in  each  department  ^\■ere  so  few  that 
the  student  could  not  go  far  enough  along  any  one  line  to 
become  capable  of  independent  research.  The  passing  mark 
of  twenty-five  per  cent,  again,  was  surely  a  feeble  incen- 
tive to  intellectual  effort.  The  substitution  of  written  for 
oral  examinations  introduced  tests  that  were  fairer  but  not 
necessarily  more  stimulating. 

Two  features  of  the  new  regulations  had  in  them  large 
possibilities  for  good :  the  examination  in  a  limited  num- 
ber of  subjects  at  the  end  of  the  whole  period  of  study,  in 
addition  to  the  term  examinations  in  all  subjects ;  and,  for 
the  master's  degree,  the  reading  of  t\\o  authors  outside  the 
class-room  and  an  examination  upon  them.  Here  was  a  crude 
approximation  to  the  English  system  of  honor  examinations. 
If  these  examinations  for  degrees — three  for  the  bachelor's 
and  five  for  the  master's — had  been  sweeping  and  thorough, 
requiring  a  mastery  both  broad  and  minute  of  a  few  sub- 
jects ;  if  the  student  had  been  allowed  to  choose  the  fields  in 
which  he  would  thus  specialize ;  and  if  a  large  amount  of 
reading  had  been  required  in  the  two  authors ;  then  the  abler 
students  might  have  been  inspired  to  manly  labor  in  a  spirit 
of  high  scholarship.  But  none  of  these  conditions  prevailed. 
The  examinations  were  superficial ;  the  subjects  were  either 
fixed  at  the  beginning  of  the  course  or  announced  a  term 
before  the  examination ;  and  the  amount  of  outside  read- 
ing was  very  small — in  1854-55  consisting  of  a  chapter  in 
Campbell's  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric  and  one  book  of  Tacitus 's 
Historiae.  In  1855  a  committee  consisting  of  Professors 
Gammell  and  Dunn  reported  to  the  Faculty  on  the  matter. 
They  said  that  the  candidates  for  the  degree  of  A.M.,  who 
were  to  have  been  examined  in  five  subjects  at  the  end 
of  the  course,  had  never  been  examined  in  more  than  t^^•o; 
that  good  scholars  estimated  the  study  necessary  to  pass  the 

C  291  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

examinations  as  equivalent  to  only  four  and  a  half  days  of 
uninterrupted  labor  ;  and  that  the  examinations  were  made 
a  pretext  for  neglecting  the  regular  work.  The  committee 
recommended  that  the  statute  be  repealed,  which  was  done. 
There  are  two  additional  pieces  of  evidence  that  the  New 
System  had  done  little  or  nothing  to  raise  the  intellectual 
tone  of  the  college.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  results  of 
the  system  of  premiums  had  been  disappointing  under  the 
old  regime,  few  students  having  the  ambition  to  compete. 
If  the  New  System  had  done  much  to  develop  intellectual 
enterprise,  there  would  have  been  more  wrestlers  for  these 
awards  ;  but  there  was  no  change,  and  in  1858  the  Faculty 
converted  the  prizes  into  scholarships.  The  other  evidence 
comes  from  a  student's  journal  of  the  junior  and  senior 
years.  The  student  was  a  bright  young  man,  vivacious 
and  witty,  with  intellectual  interests  in  several  fields ;  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa  in  his  junior 
year,  and  received  the  salutatory  honor  at  graduation.  Yet 
though  he  was  above  the  average  of  his  class  in  ability  and 
scholarship,  his  journal  shows  a  schoolboy  worrying  and 
shambling  through  his  lessons,  not  a  university  man  out  on 
intellectual  quests.  To  the  last  he  is  forever  making  hasty 
preparation  for  the  next  recitation,  often  in  another  class 
the  hour  before,  writing  the  required  essays  in  a  rush,  and 
doing  almost  no  reading  as  a  supplement  to  the  textbooks. 
Both  he  and  his  classmates  are  constantly  calculating 
their  chances  of  being  "called  up"  to  recite,  and  are  full 
of  schoolboy  hilarity  when  a  class  exercise  is  omitted.  On 
December  31 ,  1854,  he  truly  diagnoses  his  case  as  follows : 
"On  the  whole,  I  fear  most  of  this  year  has  been  wasted. 
I  have  managed  to  work  through  my  College  duties ;  but 
have  done  nothing  beyond  the  text-books  &  what  I  have 
done  has  been  Hstlessly."  This  corresponds  exactly  to  ^vhat 

[   292   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

President  Wayland  had  pictured  as  the  result  of  the  old  sys- 
tem. Yet  this  student  was  under  the  New  System  through- 
out his  course,  and  took  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  at  the 
end. 

Some  of  the  new  laws  directly  affecting  the  Faculty  also 
proved  unsuccessful.  One  hour  and  twenty  minutes  as  a 
class-room  period  evidently  exceeded  human  po^\•ers  of  en- 
durance ;  certain  courses  never  had  it,  and  in  1858  it  was 
made  optional  in  all.  Written  examinations  met  with  gen- 
eral favor  for  a  time.  President  Wayland  reported  in  1851 
that  the  method  was  "universally  allowed  to  be  perfectly 
fair,  and  much  more  manly  and  scholarlike  than  the  previ- 
ous method. ' '  But  some  reaction  soon  appeared,  and  in  1 853 
the  Executive  Board  permitted  the  Faculty  to  substitute  oral 
for  written  examinations  at  will,  "sufficient  time  being  al- 
ways allowed  for  entire  thoroughness." How  to  get  enough 
time  for  each  student  without  unduly  prolonging  the  ex- 
amination period  as  a  ^\  hole  was  the  problem  ;  the  Faculty 
finally  hit  upon  the  device  of  giving  an  oral  examination  to 
one-third  of  the  class,  chosen  by  lot,  and  a  written  one  to  the 
rest.  This  system,  although  unpopular  with  the  undergrad- 
uates, was  retained  for  a  nhile. 

Student  fees,  as  a  partial  substitute  for  salaries,  excited 
strong  opposition.  The  plan  had  long  been  a  favorite  one 
with  Dr.  Wayland,  and  the  time  had  now  come  when  it 
might  be  tried.  For  the  year  1851-52  the  professors  were 
given  their  choice  between  a  salary  of  $1200  and  a  salary 
of  $500  augmented  by  fees  from  the  students  attending  their 
courses.  Professors  Dunn  and  Porter  chose  the  $1200;  the 
rest  tried  the  new  plan.  Just  what  the  results  were  is  not 
known ;  but  for  the  next  year  the  Executive  Board  recom- 
mended that  the  salaries  be  $900  plus  half  the  fees.  In 
1853-54,  when  the  number  of  students  was  greatest,  the 

C   293   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

President  received  $1839.50  in  all;  Professor  Caswell, 
$1826;  Professor  Chace,  $2014;  Professor  Gammell, 
$1400,  to  which  $200  was  added  later;  Professor  Lin- 
coln, $1440 ;  Nelson  Wheeler,  the  new  professor  of  Greek, 
$800.  Professor  Gammell  protested  against  the  method  in 
a  letter  to  the  Executive  Board  in  May,  1853,  saying  that 
it  gave  him  less  salary  than  any  other  of  the  older  professors, 
and  less  even  than  some  of  the  younger,  because  the  sub- 
jects he  taught  came  late  in  the  college  course  when  the 
classes  were  always  smaller.  Professor  Chace,  although  he 
had  personally  profited  by  the  system,  argued  against  it  in 
a  letter  to  the  Executive  Board  on  September  14,  1855: 
he  said  that  it  had  been  introduced  by  the  Corporation  and 

pressed  upon  the  Faculty  by  every  argument  at  their  com- 
mand" ;  that  it  was  unjust,  and  did  not  furnish  "whole- 
some or  beneficial  stimulus ' ' ;  and  that  he  therefore  looked 
to  the  board  to  secure  him  a  certain  salary  the  next  year 
without  fees.  By  1856  the  old  plan,  with  salaries  of  $1200, 
was  in  force  again. 

In  this  time  of  reform  the  undergraduates  wished  to  put 
into  effect  some  ideas  of  their  own,  and  the  second  year  of 
the  New  System  saw  the  outbreak  of  a  serious  revolt,  the 
fundamental  cause  of  which  was  a  clash  between  the  new 
spirit  of  freedom  and  certain  old  restrictions.  In  the  spring 
of  1850  President  Wayland  reported  that  the  inspection  of 
rooms  was  less  effective  than  before,  while  the  students' 
temptations  were  greater :  ' '  Allurements  to  vice  and  dissi- 
pation have  increased  to  a  painful  degree  in  our  city.  Two 
theatres  are  open  every  night,  concerts,  lectures,  billiard 
rooms  are  exerting  all  their  solicitations."  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  consider  the  situation,  and  presented  a  rather 
hysterical  report.  "While  the  Professors  adhered  to  celi- 
bacy, &  slept  in  the  Colleges,  they  were  able  to  exercise  a 

C   294   j 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

kindly  supervision  of  the  Undergraduates.  But  when  they 
exchanged  the  ahv  ays  anxious  &  not  seldom  vexing  duties 
inseparable  from  the  government  of  a  hundred  young  men, 
for  the  light  cares  of  domestic  life,  the  students  were  left 
in  the  exclusive  possession  of  one  of  the  Colleges,  &  in  the 
other  there  AAas  no  one  invested  with  authority  except  the 
Steward. ' '  This  condition  had  existed  for  years,  and ' '  surely 
it  is  a  fearful  one' ' ;  it  was  true  there  had  been  no  evidence  of 
great  wickedness, ' '  but  who  can  tell  \\hat  scenes  of  iniquity 
are  silently  enacted? ' '  The  appointment  of  proctors  was  out 
of  the  question,  for  the  salaries  of  three  at  $400  each  would 
exceed  by  $200  the  receipts  from  room  rents  ;  and  the  com- 
mittee therefore  recommended  that  all  the  students  be  lodged 
in  private  families.  But  the  Corporation  objected  to  emptying 
the  dormitories  and  losing  the  rents,  and  so  when  the  New 
System  went  into  effect  the  Executive  Board  tried  instead 
to  enforce  stricter  supervision  by  the  Faculty. 

This  was  the  situation  in  the  autumn  of  1851,  when 
several  causes  of  irritation  combined  to  arouse  the  students. 
The  literary  societies  issued  a  call  for  a  petition  against  the 
rule  forbidding  undergraduate  organizations  to  meet  in  the 
evening,  and  took  a  bold  tone:  "Let  petitions  couched  in 
the  strongest  language  and  most  forcible  terms  be  presented 
to  the  president.  Such  petitions  expressing  the  united  senti- 
ments of  a  whole  community  cannot  be  disregarded.  .  .  . 
Shall  the  will  of  one  man  unsupported  by  reason  overcome 
the  settled  convictions  of  hundreds?"  The  petition  was 
rejected.  The  chapter  of  Psi  Upsilon  also  petitioned  to  be 
allowed  to  meet  at  night,  reminding  the  Corporation  that 

there  is  a  potent  charm  in  the  stillness  of  the  evening  hours 
peculiarly  favorable  to  literary  exercises  "  ;  but  this  request, 
too,  was  refused. 

While  the  students  were  smarting  under  these  rebuffs, 
[   295   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

their  discontent  was  greatly  increased  by  another  occurrence, 
which  had  serious  results.  Professor  A.  L.  Koeppen,  for- 
merly of  the  University  of  Athens,  who  had  been  granted 
the  use  of  a  college  room  for  a  course  of  lectures  the  year 
before,  was  for  some  reason  denied  a  renewal  of  the  privi- 
lege; and  the  Executive  Board  voted,  on  October  10,  1851, 
"That  no  Instruction  or  Lectures  be  given  in  Brown  Uni- 
versity except  by  the  officers  appointed  by  the  Corporation . ' ' 
Action  seemingly  more  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  New  Sys- 
tem can  hardly  be  conceived.  Professor  Koeppen  secured  a 
hall,  and  invited  the  university  students  to  attend  his  lec- 
tures free  of  charge,  as  they  had  done  in  the  previous  year. 
Some  members  of  the  Faculty  excused  the  students  from 
evening  study  hours  that  they  might  go,  while  others  held 
to  the  rules.  On  November  7  the  Executive  Board  appointed 
a  committee  to  inform  the  Faculty  that  they  w^ere  expected 
to  do  their  visiting  duty  rigidly  "and  especially  on  Mon- 
day evening,"  when  the  lectures  occurred.  There  followed 
the  so-called  rebelhon  of  1851,  during  which  the  students 
used  "the  most  abusive  epithets  towards  the  President  and 
Faculty,"  and  made  disturbances  in  chapel.  In  January  the 
President  conferred  with  the  Executive  Board  on  ' '  the  in- 
subordination of  the  last  term, "  and  laid  it  chiefly  to  the  lack 
of  unanimity  in  the  Faculty  about  the  enforcement  of  disci- 
pline. A  committee  having  confirmed  his  opinion,  the  board 
voted  that  it  was  "expedient"  that  Mr.  Greene  and  Pro- 
fessors Porter  and  Norton  ' '  should  terminate  their  connex- 
ion with  the  University. ' '  The  three  resigned  forthwith .  The 
acuteness  of  the  crisis,  as  the  Executive  Board  saw  it,  appears 
in  their  statement  to  Professor  Norton  that  they '  'were  unani- 
mously of  the  opinion  that  it  would  not  be  safe  to  commence 
another  term  under  the  same  circumstances  as  the  last. ' '  The 
professors,  on  the  other  hand,  denied  that  they  had  inten- 

C   ^96  ] 


i 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tionally  done  anything  to  stir  up  rebellion ;  but  they  admitted 
that  they  regarded  as  "degrading ' '  the  rule  which  required 
them  to  report  monthly  to  the  Executive  Board  the  num- 
ber of  ' '  police  visits ' '  they  had  made.  They  added  this  \  ery 
significant  statement:  "An  impression  may  have  existed, 
that  men,  coming  from  other  Colleges,  were  likely  to  bring 
with  them  more  or  less  of  the  spirit  of  the  Institutions  with 
which  they  had  been  previously  connected.  It  is  possible  that 
such  an  inference  Avas  made  from  our  manner  and  bearing, 
in  our  intercourse  with  Students. "  Here  is  doubtless  the  key 
to  the  whole  situation.  By  adopting  the  New  System,  and 
bringing  in  such  men  as  these,  the  Corporation  had  evoked 
a  spirit  of  freedom  which  flew  straight  in  the  teeth  of  old 
restrictions.  The  Executive  Board  were  probably  right  in 
thinking  that  the  rules  could  not  be  enforced  while  men  of 
this  temper  w'ere  on  the  Faculty;  but  the  need  to  get  rid 
of  them  is  a  severe  commentary  on  the  narrowness  of  the 
rules  and  the  policy  of  the  board. 

It  is  apparently  not  a  mere  coincidence  that  the  earliest 
extant  "mock  programs,"  satirizing  the  Faculty  with  hu- 
mor almost  as  coarse  as  it  is  dull,  date  from  this  agitated 
time.  Pranks  of  various  kinds  seem  to  have  been  more  com- 
mon then  than  they  had  been  for  a  generation.  "Junior 
Burials"  of  textbooks  likewise  began  in  this  period,  the 
earliest  extant  program  being  of  the  year  1853.  The  pro- 
cession formed  at  half-past  eight  in  the  evening,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Hope  and  Waterman  Streets,  marched  about  the  city, 
and  finally  took  boat;  the  burial  of  textbooks  by  Whately 
and  Campbell,  w^ith  a  Latin  service  and  an  oration,  occurred 
off  Fox  Point.  The  burial  two  years  later  is  thus  described 
in  the  student's  journal  previously  mentioned: 

But  it  was  growing  dark,  dressed  up  in  my  worst  rig,  &  .  .  .  started  for 
the  obsequies.  .  .  .  Procession  fonned  in  Hope  St.  Gave  us  Senioi-s 

C   297   J 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  lead  &  I  had  the  honor  of  bearing  the  new  banner,  fresh  fiom 
Mark's  hands,  "The  Supreme  Canon  of  the  New  Analytic."  —  Rep- 
resents Sir  Wm:  Hamilton,  in  the  guise  of  the  devil  touching  off 
with  his  fier\'  tail  a  canwon  from  the  mouth  of  which  fly  in  separate 
directions  Messrs.  Locke,  Aristotle  &  Bacon. — The  Hearse,  a  buggy 
with  the  top  off,  supporting  a  genuine  coffin  (Ch.  Alden  fecit),  with 
a  huge  black  pall  (ornamented  with  a  trio  of  skulls,  each  with  its  attend- 
ant couple  of  cross-bones)  was  drawn  by  four  white  horses,  appro- 
priatel)^  caparisoned,  led  by  four  impromptu  darkies  &  driven  by  a 
genuine  white  man.  .  .  .  Ha\'e  reason  to  think  we  made  a  good  appear- 
ance. At  all  events  our  torches  shed  their  glare  upon  a  crowd  of  spec- 
tators, including  many  ladies.  .  .  .  Then  a  pleasant  row  down  the  bay, 
I  not  having  to  touch  the  oars,  more  trouble  in  drawing  up  around 
the  channel  post,  when  the  services  began.  Back  again  to  the  land- 
ing. Rather  chilly — Marched  up  to  the  colleges  again,  breaking  the 
solemn  stillness  of  the  midnight.  Broke  up  with  appropriate  shouts. 

The  senior  and  junior  exhibitions  still  continued.  The  stu- 
dent's journal  gives  the  following  description  of  the  senior 
exhibition  of  November  25,  1854  : 

Almost  all  in  the  library  before  me.  Prof.  Dunn  impatiently  teUs  me 
to  put  on  my  gown.  I  do  so  &  feel  like  a  criminal  preparing  for  exe- 
cution. .  .  .  But  while  we  are  wandering  round  &  round,  nervous 
and  terrified,  the  hall  above  is  filling  &  one  by  one  dignified  Profs.  & 
Members  of  the  Corporation  are  entering  the  Library  Door  below. 
Cool,  calm  &  collected  they  scarcely  deign  a  look,  much  less  a  glance 
of  pity,  upon  us;  they  care  not  how  quickh-  the  moments  fly.  .  .  .  Soon 
the  table  is  pushed  one  side,  the  doors  swung  wide  open  &  I  hear  a 
voice  calling. 

President  &  Corporation  of  the  Univ. 

Regent  &  Members  of  the  Faculty. 
Speakers. 

The  Doctor  is  absent  again  &  the  Regent  supplies  his  place.  .  .  .  We 
are  at  the  top  of  the  stairs  &  entering  the  room.  As  the  speakers  cross 
the  threshold  the  ominous,  measured  Initiation  Stamp  begins  about 
the  door  &  continues  while  we  slowly  move  up  the  broad  aisle.  .  .  . 
All  subsides  into  momentary  silence.  The  regent  from  his  elevated 
seat  behind  our  scaffold,  nods  towards  the  gallery  and  the  band  strikes 

C  298  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

up  what  seems  a  dirge.  .  .  .  The  music  stops,  the  Regent  i-eacls  the 
first  name  on  the  programme  &  in  6  minutes  perhaps,  so  far  as  Dearth 
is  concerned,  all  is  ovtv  &  I  am  almost  perfectl)'  happy.  I  take  my  seat, 
on  the  second  bench  now,  with  a  confiised  recollection  of  haxing  made 
my  wa}'  up  to  the  platfonn  &  m^•  bow  to  the  regent  &  to  the  audience 
amidst  a  very  moderate  show  of  applause,  then  having  yelled  at  the 
audience  with  gestures  now  and  then  for  a  few  minutes, .  .  .  making 
some  terrible  grammatical  mist;ikes,  seeing  Marshall  John  Tolx-y 
standing  composedly  at  the  end  of  the  aisle  &  girls  giggling  around, 
before  me,  and  then  making  my  final  double  bow  &  my  exit.  Sic  transit. 

Commencements  under  the  New^  System  had  many  inter- 
esting features,  although  the  city  no  longer  honored  them  by 
keeping  general  holiday.  In  185 land  1852  Commencement 
day,  in  accordance  with  the  Laws  of  1850,  was  the  second 
Wednesday  in  July ;  in  1853  it  was  restored  to  the  first  week 
in  September.  A  novel  feature  in  the  Commencement  of  1851 
was  the  awarding  of  the  new  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philos- 
ophy to  one  student;  it  was  done  in  English,  and  The  Provi- 
dence Journal  observed,  "If  the  enunciation  lacked  the  so- 
norous reverberations  of  the  Latin,  it  was  pronounced  with 
an  unction  that  showed  the  gratification  of  the  speaker." 
This  year,  for  the  first  time,  the  Commencement  dinner  was 
served  in  a  tent,  capable  of  seating  six  hundred,  which  was 
pitched  behind  University  Hall.  At  the  dinner  in  1853  four 
hundred  and  fifty  persons  Avere  present ;  obituary  notices  of 
alumni  who  had  died  during  the  year  were  read  by  Professor 
Gammell,  and  there  were  besides  nine  speeches  and  a  poem. 
In  1854  more  than  half  the  graduating  class  took  as  their 
first  degree  that  of  Master  of  Arts,  now  given  for  the  first 
time  under  the  new  conditions.  The  literary  exercises  of  the 
day  before  were  of  unusual  interest.  At  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
meeting,  in  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Professor  Edwards  A. 
Park  was  the  orator,  and  George  William  Curtis  the  poet. 
The  sermon  that  evening,  in  the  same  place,  before  the  So- 
li  299   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ciety  of  Missionary  Inquiry,  was  preached  by  Henry  Ward 
Beecher ;  although  the  weather  was  stifling,  his  address,  said 
the  Journal,  was ' '  so  eloquent  as  to  hold  in  rapt  attention,  for 
nearly  two  hours,  the  most  crowded  and  indeed  the  largest 
audience  we  have  ever  seen  assembled  in  that  church." 

The  Commencement  of  1855  had  a  peculiar  but  painful 
interest,  for  it  was  known  that  Dr.  Wayland  had  resigned 
and  would  never  again  preside  in  the  old  church.  After  the 
degrees  had  been  conferred,  Chancellor  Tobey  addressed  the 
audience,  reviewing  the  achievements  of  the  retiring  presi- 
dent ;  then  turning  to  Dr.  Wajdand  he  said,  in  the  quaintly 
impressive  speech  of  his  sect :  ' '  President  Wayland,  — on 
receiving  thy  resignation  of  the  Presidency  of  Brown  Uni- 
versity and  Professor  of  Moral  and  Intellectual  Philosophy, 
a  series  of  resolutions  Avith  some  prefatory  remarks  were 
oflfered  which  the  Corporation  unanimously  accepted,  and 
directed  that  they  be  recorded  and  a  copy  of  them  furnished 
to  thee.  Believe  me,  when  I  assure  thee,  that  they  are  not 
the  record  of  mere  formal  words,  but  that  they  embody  the 
heartfelt  sentiments  of  those  who  have  so  long  and  so  hap- 
pily labored  with  thee  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  College. 
They  but  feebly  convey  our  sense  of  the  good  thou  hast 
accomplished."  He  then  read  the  resolutions,  including  the 
following:  ^''Resolved,  That  in  accepting  this  resignation 
the  Corporation  deem  it  proper  to  express  their  high  sense 
of  the  fidelity,  ability,  singleness  of  purpose,  and  eminent 
success  with  which  he  has  discharged  the  varied  and  im- 
portant duties  of  his  appointment  —  manifesting  at  all  times 
his  entire  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  the  University  —  with 
unwearied  assiduity  watching  over  its  interests — impart- 
ing to  the  students  who  have  been  educated  here  the  rich 
treasures  of  his  cultivated  and  original  mind — imbuing  them 
with  that  intellectual  and  moral  culture  which  prepares  for 

[   300   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  fulfilment,  with  dignity  and  honor,  of  the  duties  which 
appertain  to  them  as  citizens,  and  giving  them  that  reli- 
gious instruction  which  qualifies  for  the  discharge  of  their 
paramount  duties  to  God." 

The  scene  at  the  Commencement  dinner,  where  five  hun- 
dred gathered  under  the  tent,  was  also  of  exceptional  inter- 
est. Resolutions  adopted  the  day  before  by  the  alumni  were 
presented  to  the  President  by  Judge  Benjamin  F.  Thomas, 
of  the  Massachusetts  supreme  court,  a  member  of  the  class  of 
1830,  who  said :  "  A  quarter  of  a  century  has  passed  since 
I  left  these  walls  with  ybur  blessing.  I  have  seen  something 
of  men  and  of  the  world  since.  I  esteem  it  to-day  the  hap- 
piest event  of  my  life  that  brought  me  here,  the  best  gift 
of  an  ever  kind  Providence  to  me,  that  I  was  permitted  for 
three  years  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  your  instruction.  Others  may 
speak  and  think  of  the  writer  and  scholar,  my  tribute  is  to 
the  great  teacher. "  Professor  Felton,  of  Harvard,  responded 
to  the  sentiment  proposed  by  Dr.  Wayland, ' '  Harvard  Uni- 
versity and  Brown  University — Near  neighbors  and  ex- 
cellent friends."  Addresses  were  made  by  members  of  the 
classes  of  1822,  1829,  and  1838,  the  representative  of  the 
last  being  the  Rev.  Ezekiel  G.  Robinson,  later  president  of 
Brown  University.  Barnas  Sears  was  also  present,  and  was 
greeted  as  President  Way  land's  successor  with  "enthusi- 
astic and  reiterated  applause." 

The  resignation  of  President  Wayland  did  not  come  as 
a  surprise  to  his  official  associates  or  his  friends,  who  knew 
that  for  some  years  the  duties  of  his  office  had  weighed  upon 
him  heavily.  The  formulation  and  launching  of  the  New 
System  had  involved  not  only  much  labor  but  many  worries 
and  responsibilities.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  he  wrote, 
"I  would  not,  for  any  earthly  consideration,  go  through 
the  same  work  again."  During  1852-53  every  hour  that  he 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

could  snatch  from  college  duties  he  gave  to  writing  his  lifeof 
Adoniram  Judson,  which  appeared  in  the  autumn  of  1853. 
The  next  year  he  published  his  Elements  of  Intellectual  Phi- 
losophy. Professor  Caswell  had  been  appointed  regent  in 
1852,  to  relieve  him  of  some  cares,  but  this  relief  was  not 
enough.  In  his  letter  of  resignation  on  August  20,  1855,  he 
wrote, "After  more  than  twenty  eight  years  of  service  the 
conviction  is  pressed  upon  me  that  relaxation  and  change  of 
labor  have  become  to  me  a  matter  of  indispensable  neces- 
sity."  The  Chancellor,  in  addressing  the  Corporation  on  the 
following  day,  said:  "He  has  been  admonished  that  con- 
tinued persistence  in  one  field  of  labor  may  interrupt  the 
vigorous  and  healthy  action  of  the  best  balanced  physical 
and  mental  powers."  His  sons  record  that  when  the  bell 
rang  for  the  opening  of  the  new  college  year,  after  his  resig- 
nation, Dr.  Wayland  stopped  and  listened  and  then  re- 
marked, "No  one  can  conceive  the  unspeakable  relief  and 
freedom  which  I  feel  at  this  moment  to  hear  that  bell  ring, 
and  to  know,  for  the  first  time  in  nearly  twenty-nine  years, 
that  it  calls  me  to  no  duty." 

For  a  year  or  two  he  lived  in  comparative  leisure.  In  the 
spring  of  1856  he  moved  into  a  house  which  he  had  been 
building,  situated  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Angell  and  Gov- 
ernor Streets  ;  and  in  the  large  garden  he  spent  many  happy 
and  healthful  hours.  But  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  rest 
long.  His  own  nature  and  calls  from  without  constantly  sum- 
moned him  to  labors  which,  although  less  harmful  than  a 
continuance  of  his  college  duties  would  have  been,  undoubt- 
edly hastened  his  end.  He  served  as  fellow  of  the  college 
from  1855  to  1858.  After  Charles  Sumner  was  assaulted  in 
the  Senate,  Dr.  Wayland  addressed  a  meeting  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Providence,  on  June  7,  1856,  and  made  a  powerful 
impression.  He  attended  the  Commencement  at  Yale  College 

I    302    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

that  summer,  where  he  spoke  at  a  meeting  of  the  alumni. 
Few  Commencement  speeches  ha\'e  ever  liad  such  conse- 
quences. One  of  his  hearers  was  Andrew  D.White,  later 
the  first  president  of  Cornell  University,  who  says:  "He 
rose,  and  his  appearance  made  an  impression  upon  me,  such 
that  I  doubt  whether  those  who  saw  him  constantly,  now 
carry  in  their  minds  a  more  vivid  portrait  of  him  than  I  do 
at  this  moment.  He  spoke  of  the  possible  rise  or  decline  of 
this  natbn,  of  the  duties  of  educated  men,  and  said  that  he 
believed  this  country  was  fast  approaching  a  '  switching-off' 
place'  towards  good  or  to\\^ards  evil,  and  added  that  .  .  . 
the  west  was  the  place  for  earnest  men  to  work  in,  to  influ- 
ence the  nation.  That  was  all ;  but  it  changed  my  whole  life. 
I  gave  up  law,  literature,  and  politics,  and  thenceforward  my 
strongest  desire  was  to  work  anywhere  and  anyhow  at  the 
west  in  education." 

This  is  proof  enough  that  Dr.  Wayland  had  not  lost  his 
remarkable  power  over  young  men.  But  his  chief  work,  in 
the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  was  to  be  religious  and  chari- 
table. His  publications  were  henceforth  chiefly  religious;  and 
in  February,  1857,  on  the  death  of  the  pastor  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  Dr.  Wayland  consented  to  act  as  its  pas- 
tor for  a  time.  Into  this  work  he  threw  himself,  for  sixteen 
months,  with  a  zeal  beyond  his  strength.  The  manifest  ef- 
fects of  this  strain  warned  him  again  that  he  must  husband 
his  powers,  and  he  therefore  declined,  in  1858,  an  urgent 
call  to  the  presidency  of  a  ntw  university.  He  resumed  a  lei- 
surely revision  of  his  Elements  of  Moral  Science;  but  even  this 
labor  was  too  much,  and  in  May,  1860,  he  had  preliminary 
symptoms  of  paralysis.  By  rest  and  care,  however,  he  slowly 
regained  a  large  measure  of  strength,  and  occupied  him- 
self with  writing  his  "  Reminiscences . ' '  B v  Commencement 
week  of  this  year  he  had  so  far  recovered  that  he  iuAited  the 

C  303  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

alumni  to  visit  him  at  his  house,  and  a  large  number  did 
so.  This  pleasant  gathering  henceforth  occurred  every  year 
until  the  year  of  his  death.  At  the  Commencement  of  1861 
the  bust  of  Wayland  which  is  now  in  Sayles  Hall  w  as  given 
to  the  college  by  alumni  from  nearly  every  class  that  had 
come  under  his  instruction  in  Brown  University;  the  Hon. 
William  H.  Seward,  his  pupil  at  Union  College,  was  also 
a  contributor.  The  bust  was  made  by  Thomas  Ball,  then 
at  work  upon  the  equestrian  statue  of  Washington  for  the 
city  of  Boston,  and  was  regarded  as  a  very  good  likeness. 

The  charitable  labors  of  these  years  of  retirement  reveal 
one  of  the  most  attractive  sides  of  Dr.  Wayland's  nature. 
He  continued  to  serve  as  a  trustee  of  Butler  Hospital  until 
1863,  and  he  aided  in  the  establishment  of  the  Rhode  Island 
Hospital  in  the  same  year.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  the 
Providence  Reform  School,  visiting  it  every  week,  and  often 
addressing  the  boys,  whom  he  knew  personally  and  who 
dehghted  to  see  and  hear  him.  From  1851  to  1859  he  was 
chairman  of  the  board  of  inspectors  of  the  state  prison,  and 
prepared  the  annual  reports.  Owing  largely  to  his  super- 
vision, the  sanitary,  moral,  and  financial  condition  of  the 
institution  vastly  improved  during  this  period.  Nor  was  his 
relation  to  the  prisoners  merely  official :  he  often  preached 
to  them,  and  was  for  many  years  the  superintendent  of  the 
prison  Sunday-school  and  the  teacher  of  a  class  ;  on  the  re- 
lease of  prisoners  he  aided  them  in  various  ways.  During 
the  hard  times  of  1857  he  originated  the  idea  of  the  Provi- 
dence Aid  Society,  a  kind  of  employment  bureau,  and  acted 
as  its  president  until  his  death. 

The  author  of  The  ElemenU  of  Moral  Science  was  bound 
to  side  with  the  party  which  set  its  face  against  the  exten- 
sion of  slavery.  Dr.  Wayland  voted  for  Fremont  in  1856, 
and  for  Lincoln  in  1860.  He  had  for  several  years  been 

C    304   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

president  of  the  American  Peace  Society ;  but  ^\'hen  the 
Civil  War  broke  out,  he  stood  staunchly  by  the  govern- 
ment. To  a  friend  he  wrote  in  April,  1 86 1 :  "  I  have  been  this 
afternoon  to  t\\  o  flag-raisings ;  on  Wednesday  I  addressed 
the  troops,  and  marched  with  them  to  the  wharf;  our  flag 
goes  up  to-morrow  or  Monday.  Mrs.  Way  land  cannot  sew, 
but  she  and  I  have  been  making  bandages."  He  followed 
the  campaigns  with  interest  so  intense  that  he  could  not 
endure  to  read  details  of  battles,  but  he  was  most  deeply 
concerned  for  the  moral  issues  at  stake.  As  the  time  for  a 
new  presidential  election  drew  near,  he  wrote  to  a  friend : 
"To  beat  the  Copperheads  is  nothing.  They  ought  to  be 
crushed.  We  have  all  the  argument,  the  honesty,  the  char- 
acter, the  patriotism,  and  power  of  appeal  to  the  American 
heart." 

When  the  news  of  Lincoln's  assassination  reached  Provi- 
dence, on  April  15, 1865,  a  committee  called  upon  Dr.  Way- 
land  and  asked  him  to  address  a  public  meeting  in  the  city 
that  evening ;  he  declined,  feeling  that  his  strength  was  not 
sufficient.  "Will  you  address  them  if  they  will  come  to 
your  house?  "  He  consented.  Then  was  paid  an  impressive 
and  unique  tribute  to  the  personal  power  of  the  man.  At 
nightfall,  in  spite  of  pouring  rain,  some  fifteen  hundred 
citizens  gathered  and  moved  towards  the  plain  house  on 
Governor  Street.  What  followed  is  best  told  in  the  words 
of  Professor  Chace : 

The  long  dark  column  winds  its  way  over  the  hill  and  into  the  valley. 
As  it  moves  onward,  the  wailings  of  the  dirge  and  the  measured  tread 
are  the  only  sounds  which  fall  upon  the  still  air.  Having  reached  the 
residence  of  President  Way  land,  it  pours  itself  in  a  dense  throng  around 
a  slightly  raised  platform  in  fi-ont  of  it.  Presentl}'  he  appears,  to  ad- 
dress for  the  last  time,  as  it  proves,  his  assembled  fellow  citizens.  It  is 
the  same  noble  presence  which  many  there  had  in  years  long  gone  by, 

[   305  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

gazed  upon  with  such  pride  and  admiration  from  seats  in  the  old  chapel. 
.  .  .  The  glorious  intellectual  power  which  sat  upon  those  features  is 
veiled  beneath  the  softer  lines  of  moral  grace  and  beaut)'.  It  is  not  now 
the  Athenian  orator,  but  one  of  the  old  prophets,  from  whose  touched 
lips  flow  forth  the  teachings  of  inspired  wisdom.  The  dead  first  claims 
his  thought.  He  recounts  most  appreciatively  his  great  services,  and 
dwells  with  loving  eulogy  upon  his  unswer\ing  patriotism  and  his  high 
civic  virtues.  Next  the  duties  of  the  living  and  the  lessons  of  the  hour 
occupy  attention.  Then  come  words  of  devout  thanksgiving,  of  holy 
trust,  of  sublime  faith,  uttered  as  he  only  ever  uttered  them.  They 
fall  upon  that  waiting  assembly,  like  a  blessed  benediction,  assuaging 
grief,  dispelling  gloom,  and  kindling  worship  in  every  bosom.  God  is 
no  longer  at  a  distance,  but  all  around  and  within  them.  They  go  away 
strengthened  and  comforted. 

On  the  last  day  of  September  Francis  Wayland  died  of 
paralysis ;  and  many  who  had  heard  him  that  April  night 
attended  his  funeral  services  in  the  First  Baptist  Church 
on  October  4,  and  followed  his  body  to  its  resting-place  in 
the  old  North  Burying  Ground.  The  Corporation,  the  Fac- 
ulty, the  undergraduates,  and  eminent  men  from  various 
w  alks  of  life  and  many  regions  united  in  paying  him  this 
last  honor. 

The  death  of  a  man  so  long  prominent  in  the  educational 
and  religious  world  drew  forth  estimates  of  him  and  his 
work  from  many  sources.  The  Corporation,  Faculty,  and 
alumni  passed  appropriate  resolutions ;  commemorative  ser- 
mons were  preached  by  clergymen  of  various  faiths  ;  articles 
appeared  in  countless  newspapers  and  magazines.  James  B. 
Angell,  in  The  Providence  Journal  of  October  2,  wrote  : 

During  the  last  foity  years  has  any  other  life  been  such  a  force  and 
power  in  this  city  and  this  State  as  that,  which  is  now  quenched  in 
death?  .  .  .  His  pupils  will  all  testify  that  he  was  President  in  deed, 
as  well  as  in  name.  No  one  could  look  upon  his  face  and  his  form 
without  feeling  instinctively  that  he  was  bom  to  command.  .  .  .  He 
was  not  ordinarily  an  eloquent  or  even  a  fluent  speaker.  But  we  have 

C  306  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

never  listened  to  more  eloquent  or  effecti\e  appeals  than  we  have  heard 
fi-om  his  lips  in  the  old  chapel  at  morning  or  evening  prayers  and  in 
the  conference  meetings.  He  liftetl  his  hearei-s  as  h\'  a  resistless  power 
up  to  his  own  level  and  animated  them  with  his  own  spirit.  .  .  .  His 
class-room  was  not  simply  a  place  of  recitations,  but  the  scene  of  the 
highest  intellectual  enjo\  inent.  The  ^■oung  men  under  his  instruction 
learned  not  onh'  the  particular  science  he  was  teaching,  but  the  best 
mode  of  approaching  and  stud\'ing  any  science.  They  learned  how  to 
use  their  minds.  .  .  .  But  Dr.  \Yayland's  preeminent  power  as  an  in- 
structor lay  in  his  almost  unri\alled  faculty  of  lending  moral  impulses 
to  his  pupils.  .  .  .  We  believe  it  to  be  literally  true  that  no  student, 
however  thoughtless,  ever  pursued  the  stud\' of  moral  philosoph\' under 
Dr.  Wayland  without  receiving  moral  impressions,  which  were  never 
effaced.  .  .  .  Life,  in  his  view,  was  made  up  of  duties  to  be  performed. 
Not  that  he  took  a  gloomy  view  of  life.  He  was  fond  of  good  com- 
panionship. ^V^e  have  known  few  talkers  more  entertaining,  congenial 
and  instructive  than  he  was.  He  had  a  fund  of  good  stories  and  amus- 
ing illustrations.  He  had  an  unusually  sharp  e\-e  for  the  ridiculous. 
No  man  had  a  heartier  laugh.  His  wit  was  as  keen  as  a  Damascus 
blade.  He  was  as  quick  at  repartee  as  he  was  prompt  with  an  answer 
in  discussion.  But  he  believed  that  whatever  duty  was  to  be  done 
was  to  be  done  with  earnestness  and  with  noble  aims.  He  had  little 
patience  with  those  who  fill  their  hours  with  trifling  pursuits  or  give 
themselves  up  to  mere  dilettantism.  Meanness  of  soul  he  utterly  de- 
spised, and  his  rebukes  of  it  were  simply  terrible. 

Another  pupil,  Professor  George  P.  Fisher,  of  Yale  College, 
in  a  discriminating  article  in  The  New  Englander  of  Janu- 
ary, 1866,  said: 

He  was  unquestionably  an  able  man  intellectually.  Yet  he  was  not  a 
subtle  metaphysician.  He  had  no  great  relish  for  the  nice  distinctions 
in  which  the  metaphysician  takes  delight,  and  which  are  vital  in  his 
science.  .  .  .  Nor  was  Dr.  Wayland  an  orator,  —  certainh'  not  in  the 
recognized  and  conventional  use  of  the  term.  His  intonations  and  ges- 
tures were  conformed  to  no  accepted  stiindard,  nor  would  the\'  be  con- 
sidered pleasing.  No  more  was  he,  properly  speaking,  a  scholar.  He 
did  not  aim  to  acquaint  himself  fully  with  the  literature  of  any  branch 
of  knowledge.  His  reading  was  decidedly  less  extensive  than  is  usual 

[    307    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

with  persons  of  his  ability  and  standing.  Yet,  for  all  this,  Dr.  Wayland 
was  a  great  man.  So  everv  one  felt  who  knew  him.  No  one  could  be 
in  the  room  with  him  and  not  be  struck  with  his  superiority.  With 
no  affectation  of  dignity,  but  with  manners  perfectly  simple  and  even 
familiar,  he  commanded  respect  wherever  he  was.  In  the  class-room, 
although  he  allowed  fuU  freedom  and  was  quite  willing  to  have  his 
opinions  controverted,  he  yet  cast  a  spell  over  the  minds  of  his  pupils 
from  which  it  was  hard  to  break  loose.  .  .  .  Nothing  seemed  to  inter- 
vene between  his  mind  and  the  truth,  to  warp  his  \'ision  or  bias  his 
judgment.  He  certainly  had  little  respect  for  authority.  Perhaps  he  had 
too  little;  but  he  was  saved  fi-om  being  cramped  by  an  influence  which 
has  often  enslaved  the  human  intelligence.  The  usual  forms  in  which 
Christian  doctrine  is  stated,  he  thought  open  to  criticism.  He  agreed 
substantially  in  his  theology  with  the  great  body  of  Christians,  but  the 
formulas  of  theology  had  no  sacredness  in  his  eyes. 

Professor  Diman  wrote  thus  in  The  Atlantic  Monthly  for 
January,  1868 : 

What  power  in  his  very  presence,  def^ang  all  description,  as  the  most 
speaking  faces  defy  the  art  of  the  photographer!  What  reserved  force, 
sleeping  in  silent  depths  till  stirred  by  great  occasion !  Such  as  know 
him  only  from  his  writings  have  gained  no  adequate  impression  of  the 
man.  .  .  .  Never  did  Dr.  Wayland  seem  so  grand,  one  might  almost 
say  inspired,  as  in  those  unbidden  gushes  of  emotion  that  would  some- 
times convulsively  shake  his  great  fi-ame  and  choke  his  utterance.  The 
finest  paragraph  in  his  missionary  sermon  would  not  compare  for  elo- 
quence with  some  of  those  pungent  appeals  that  at  times  electrified  the 
students  at  their  Wednesday-evening  prayer-meeting.  .  .  ,  There  was 
never  any  cant  of  stereotj'ped  exhortation,  never  any  attempt  to  rouse 
a  superficial  emotion,  but  always  direct  appeal  to  conscience  and  to 
all  the  highest  instincts  of  youthful  hearts.  In  this  most  difficult  task  of 
dealing  with  young  men  at  the  crises  of  their  spiritual  history.  Dr. 
Wayland  was  unsurpassed.  How  wise  and  tender  his  counsels  at  such 
a  time!  How  many  who  have  timidly  stolen  to  his  study  door,  their 
souls  burdened  with  strange  thoughts,  and  bewildered  with  unaccus- 
tomed questionings,  remember  with  what  instant  appreciation  of  their 
errand  the  green  shade  was  lifted  from  the  eye,  the  volume  thrown 
aside,  and  with  what  genuine,  hearty  interest  that  whole  countenance 

C  308  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

would  beam.  .  .  .  These  were  the  nionients  when  the  springs  of  his 
nature  were  revealed. 

A  coldly  critical  opinion,  apparently  based  on  second-hand 
knowledge,  was  given  in  llie  XaUon  of  Novenii)er  28, 
1867: 

He  had  a  good,  servicealile  intellect,  hard  worked  at  all  times  in  its 
owner's  life,  deficient  in  imagination  and  humor,  incapable,  probably, 
of  verv  high  polish,  strong  rather  than  acute  or  delicate,  and  excellent 
in  the  executive  faculties.  .  .  .  Intellectualh',  he  was  more  than  a  com- 
mon man,  without  being  at  all  a  great  one ;  he  wrote  much,  but  he 
added  to  literature  nothing  of  permanent  value.  .  .  .  Morally  consid- 
ered, he  was  a  man  to  be  much  admired ;  admirable  rather  than  very 
lovable,  perhaps,  but  certainly  admirable,  doing  with  all  his  might  every 
dut\^  which  he  thought  to  be  laid  upon  him.  The  cause  of  good  edu- 
cation, of  good  morals,  had  his  intelligent,  laborious,  self-sacrificing 
service  from  his  youth  till  his  death. 

The  judgment  of  a  critical  but  sympathetic  outsider  was 
expressed  in  The  North  American  Review  of  April,  1868  : 

Dr.  Wayland's  will  always  be  a  very  considerable  name,  not  only  in 
the  history  of  the  respectable  and  influential  denomination  to  which 
he  belonged,  but  still  more  in  the  educational  histoiy  of  New  England. 
,  .  .  Yet  Dr,  Wayland  does  not  appear  to  us  to  have  been  at  all  a  man 
of  genius,  nor  was  his  own  education  of  a  large  or  liberal  t\'pe.  The 
faults  and  the  excellences  of  his  character  were  strongly  marked.  He 
was  hampered  by  a  narrow  creed ;  but  his  deep  religious  earnestness 
went  far  towards  atoning  for  its  imperfections.  He  was  not  a  very  learned 
man;  but  he  had  to  the  highest  degree  the  power  of  using  the  learning 
he  possessed.  He  was  a  bom  teacher  and  administrator;  and  he  had 
those  qualities  which  gain  the  confidence  and  conciliate  the  good-will 
of  young  men, — an  honest  simplicity  of  character,  a  hearty  hatred 
of  all  pretence,  an  inflexible  will,  and  an  untiring  perseverance.  .  .  . 
It  is,  perhaps,  as  an  educational  innovator,  as  one  of  the  first  in  this 
country  to  anticipate  that  change  in  the  course  and  character  of  a  lib- 
eral education  which  is  now  so  rapidly  taking  place,  that  Dr.  Way- 
land  will  be  longest  remembered.  ...  He  would  have  been  a  greater 

C  309  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

man,  if  he  had  not  been  a  sectarian,  and  if  the  aesthetic  side  of  his 
nature  had  early  received  its  due  share  of  cultivation. 

For  understanding  of  Francis  Wayland  posterity  must  rely 
chiefly  upon  what  he  did  and  what  was  said  of  him  by 
men  who  knew  him.  But  something  may  perhaps  be  added 
by  one  who  studies  him  in  his  writings,  unaffected  by  the 
magnetism  of  his  personal  presence  and  helped  by  the  per- 
spective of  time.  Such  a  critic  is  struck  with  his  likeness 
to  Samuel  Johnson.  The  bottom  quality  in  each  was  mas- 
culine common  sense.  The  useful,  the  moral,  and  the  reli- 
gious appealed  to  both  more  than  the  imaginative,  the  aes- 
thetic, or  the  speculative.  Even  in  style  the  likeness  holds: 
each  had  a  gift  of  direct  speech,  sometimes  delivered  with 
the  force  of  a  knock-down  blow.  Johnson  himself  might 
have  made  the  reply  which  Wayland  gave  to  an  English 
clergyman  who  apologized  for  not  inviting  him  to  preach, 
on  the  ground  that  the  congregation  disliked  his  views  on 
abolition  :  "Sir,"  rejoined  Wayland, "when  I  ask  for  your 
pulpit,  it  will  be  time  enough  for  you  to  refuse  it."  The 
early  written  style  of  each  was  more  formal  and  elaborate 
than  the  later.  The  later  style  of  Dr.  Wayland  has  been 
illustrated  already;  the  following  passage  from  his  mission- 
ary sermon  of  1823  may  serve  as  an  example  of  his  earlier 
style: 

The  church  has  commenced  her  march.  Samaria  has  with  one  accord 
believed  the  gospel.  Antioch  has  become  obedient  to  the  faith.  The 
name  of  Christ  has  been  proclaimed  throughout  Asia  Minor.  The 
temples  of  the  gods,  as  though  smitten  by  an  invisible  hand,  are  de- 
serted. The  citizens  of  Ephesus  cry  out  in  despair.  Great  is  Diana  of 
the  Ephesians!  Licentious  Corinth  is  purified  by  the  preaching  of 
Christ  crucified.  Persecution  puts  forth  her  arm  to  arrest  the  spread- 
ing "  superstition."  But  the  progress  of  the  faith  cannot  be  stayed.  The 
church  of  God  advances  unhurt,  amidst  racks  and  dungeons,  perse- 
cutions and  death;  yea,  "smiles  at  the  drawn  dagger,  and  defies  its 

C  310  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

point."  She  has  entered  Italy,  and  aj^i^cars  hcfbrt-  the  walls  of  tlu-  Eter- 
nal City.  Idolatry'  falls  jirostrate  at  her  ajjproach.  Her  ensign  floats  in 
triumph  over  the  capitol.  She  has  placed  upon  her  brow  the  diadem 
of  tlie  Caesars ! 

President  Wayland's  solid  force  of  intellect,  and  his  lack  of 
subtlety,  high  imagination,  and  wide  learning,  are  every- 
where apparent  in  his  writings.  His  Elements  of  Political 
Eco?7omt/ makes  no  claim  to  originalit}',  and  is  strictly  ele- 
mentary, cogently  setting  forth  the  main  principles  of  the 
orthodox  school,  without  attempting  to  investigate  the  more 
complex  problems  of  industrial  life.  He  put  more  of  his  per- 
sonality into  The  Elements  of  Moral  Science^  but  even  that 
is  dry  reading  to-day;  it  presses  moral  law  upon  the  con- 
science by  solid  argument,  but  is  wholly  lacking  in  sense  for 
the  twilight  regions  of  the  soul  and  quite  devoid  of  specu- 
lative or  imaginative  charm.  Chancellor  Kent  gave  it  its  due 
when  he  wrote,  "I  do  not  know  of  any  ethical  treatise  in 
which  our  duties  to  God,  and  to  our  fellow-men,  are  laid 
down  with  more  precision,  simplicity,  clearness,  energy,  and 
truth."  The  Daily  Advocate,  in  praising  the  abridged  edi- 
tion, unwittingly  pointed  out  the  limitationsof  the  larger  book 
as  well:  "It  is  metaphysics  reduced  to  practical  common 
sense,  and  made  subservient  to  Christianity."  Like  all  his 
textbooks  it  ignores  historical  development ;  so  far  as  ref- 
erence to  thinkers  before  him  is  concerned,  it  might  almost 
have  been  written  by  Adam.  In  the  preface  he  does  mention 
Paley  and  acknowledge  indebtedness  to  Butler  ;  but  the  fol- 
lowing statement  is  far  more  significant:  "When  I  com- 
menced the  undertaking,  I  attempted  to  read  extensively, 
but  soon  found  it  so  difficult  to  arrive  at  any  definite  results, 
in  this  manner,  that  the  necessities  of  my  situation  obliged 
me  to  rely  upon  my  own  reflection."  One  of  this  temper 
never  could  have  been  a  great  scholar  or  even  in  any  broad 

[   311    -\ 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

sense  a  learned  man ;  and  it  must  have  been  his  educational 
work,  not  his  learning,  that  won  him  a  degree  of  LL.D. 
from  Harvard  University  in  1852. 

After  reading  Dr.  Way  land's  addresses  on  public  affairs, 
one  is  at  first  inclined  to  think  that  he  was  by  nature  de- 
signed for  political  life  and  had  in  him  the  making  of  a  states- 
man ;  yet  even  here  his  fundamental  interest  was  that  of  the 
moralist  and  religious  teacher.  His  addresses  on  the  duties 
of  an  American  citizen,  on  the  panic  of  1837,  on  the  Dorr 
War,  on  obedience  to  the  civil  magistrate,  all  get  their  in- 
spiration from  the  moral  and  religious  questions  involved.  He 
wrote  to  a  friend  in  1856,' '  The  only  position  the  world  could 
offer  me,  which  I  have  thought  I  should  like,  is  that  of  a 
judge  of  a  court  whose  decisions  involved  grave  questions  of 
right."  It  was  in  the  realm  of  ethics  that  he  was  greatest. 
His  moral  earnestness  had  in  it  something  of  the  sublime,  al- 
though it  \\  as  too  little  relieved  by  appreciation  of  the  lighter 
and  more  graceful  things  of  life.  His  independence  was  at 
times  heroic.  True  at  once  to  his  intellectual  convictions  and 
his  conscience,  he  calmly  stood  up  in  a  community  devoted 
to  the  doctrine  of  a  high  protective  tariff  and  year  after  year 
taught  free  trade  to  the  sons  of  rich  protectionists.  His  cour- 
age was  shown  even  more  by  his  treatise.  The  Limitations 
of  Human  Responsibility^  in  1838,  in  which  he  said:  "As 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  we  have  no  power  whatever 
either  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  southern  States ;  or  to  do  any 
thing,  of  which  the  direct  intention  is  to  abolish  it."  His 
words  about  abolition  societies,  in  the  same  work,  required 
yet  greater  fearlessness  in  a  Baptist  minister  and  Northern 
college  president  at  that  time  :  ' '  They  have  already  become 
the  tools  of  third  rate  politicians.  They  have  raised  a  vio- 
lent agitation,  without  presenting  any  definite  means  of  con- 
stitutionally accomplishing  their  object.  .   .   .  They  have 

[   312   ^ 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

rivetted,  indefinitely,  the  bonds  of  tlie  slave,  in  those  very- 
States  in  which  they  were,  a  few  years  since,  falling  off"; 
and,  every  where  throughout  the  South,  they  have  rendered 
the  servitude  of  the  enslaved  vasdy  more  rigorous  than  it 
ever  was  before." 

This  same  sturdy  intellect  and  stern  moral  sense  held 
him  firmly  to  an  unsectarian  policy  as  president  of  Brown 
University.  He  \\as  deeply  attached  to  the  principles  of  his 
denomination,  which  has  probably  never  felt  in  closer  touch 
with  the  college,  in  all  legitimate  and  wholesome  ways,  than 
it  did  under  his  administration;  but  he  ne\'er  violated  the 
catholic  spirit  of  the  college  charter.  In  1834  the  Hon.  Mar- 
cus Morton,  a  justice  of  the  Massachusetts  supreme  court, 
wrote  to  President  Wayland  that  he  had  certain  objections 
to  sending  his  son  to  Brown  University,  and  referred  to  its 
supposed  sectarianism,  although  denying  that  this  was  what 
made  him  hesitate.  Wayland  bluntly  replied:  "With  my 
views  of  the  responsibleness  of  a  Teacher  I  would  never 
advise  a  friend  to  place  a  son  under  the  care  of  instructors 
who  were  capable  of  prostituting  their  official  influence  to  the 
promotion  of  Sectarian  views.  As  you  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  such  is  preeminently  the  character  of  this 
Institution  I  should  therefore  feel  bound  to  dissuade  you 
from  entering  your  son  here."  When,  in  1843,  the  Corpo- 
ration requested  the  President  to  preach  in  the  chapel  e\ery 
Sunday,  and  made  the  attendance  of  the  students  obligatory, 
they  were  scrupulous  to  add,  "Excepting  those  who  are 
under  age  whose  parents  or  guardians  by  letter  to  the  Pres- 
ident express  their  desire  that  they  should  attend  elsewhere, 
and  also  excepdng  those  who  are  of  age  and  express  their 
conscientious  objection  so  to  do."  Dr.  Wayland  was  equally 
careful  not  to  violate  religious  liberty,  assuring  the  students 
on  the  first  Sunday  that  "the  character  of  the  discourses 

C  313  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

would  not  be  at  all  sectarian ' '  ;  and  in  one  of  the  later  ser- 
mons he  said:  "In  addressing  you,  young  gentlemen,  I 
am  of  no  sect.  Never,  since  I  have  been  an  instructor,  .  .  . 
have  I  uttered  a  word  with  the  conscious  intention  of  pros- 
elyting you  to  the  denomination  of  which  I  am  a  member. 
.  .  .  You  have  all  your  own  religious  preferences,  as  you  are 
connected  with  the  different  persuasions  of  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity. We  would  have  you  enjoy  these  preferences  to  the 
uttermost ;  and  in  this  institution  you  have,  from  the  begin- 
ning, enjoyed  them  to  the  uttermost,  not  as  a  favor,  but  as 
an  inalienable  right."  His  freedom  from  foolish  narrow- 
ness also  appears  in  an  unpublished  letter  of  January  18, 
1858,  referring  to  a  proposed  Baptist  translation  of  the  Bible: 
"A  new  translation  may  be  useful,  as  a  book  of  reference 
or  otherwise.  This  is  a  different  thing  from  pledging  the 
whole  denomination  to  a  Baptist  version.  .  .  .  I  am  as  much 
opposed  to  a  Baptist  version  as  ever  &  as  much  as  I  would 
be  to  a  Methodist  or  Episcopalian  or  any  other  version." 

Wayland's  opinions  on  education,  as  set  forth  in  ad- 
dresses before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction  in  1830 
and  1854,  increase  one's  admiration  for  his  good  sense, 
shrewdness,  and  breadth  of  view.  The  earlier  address  shows 
his  trend  toward  the  utilitarian  in  education,  which  resulted 
later  in  his  emphasis  upon  scientific  and  industrial  training. 
"The  object  of  the  science  of  Education,"  he  says,  much 
in  the  line  of  Huxley's  thought  many  years  later,  "is,  to 
render  mind  the  fittest  possible  instrument  for  discovering, 
applying,  and  obeying,  the  laws  under  which  God  has 
placed  the  universe."  He  ridicules  thetheorythat  discipline, 
not  knowledge,  is  the  end  of  education  :  "If  you  taught  a 
boy  rhetoric,  and  he  could  not  write  English,  it  has  become 
sufficient  to  say  that  the  grand  object  was,  not  to  teach  the 
structure  of  sentences,  but  to  strengthen  the  faculties.  .  .  . 

C   314   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

If,  after  six  or  se\en  years  of  study  of  the  languages,  he 
had  no  more  taste  for  the  classics  than  for  Sanscrit,  and 
sold  his  books  to  the  highest  bidder,  resolved  never  again  to 
look  into  them,  it  was  all  no  matter, — he  had  been  study- 
ing, to  strengthen  his  faculties,  ^\•hile  by  this  ^■ery  process  his 
faculties  have  been  enfeebled  almost  to  annihilation."  Yet 
he  did  not  ignore  the  cultural  aim,  saying  :  "  I  think  it  can 
be  conclusively  proved,  that  the  classics  could  be  so  taught 
as  to  give  additional  acuteness  to  the  discrimination,  more 
delicate  sensibility  to  the  taste,  and  more  overflowing  rich- 
ness to  the  imagination.  .  .  .  W^ould  not  teaching  them  bet- 
ter be  the  sure  way  of  silencing  the  clamor  against  them?" 
Nor  did  he  fail  to  insist  that  behind  all  methods  must  be 
the  vitalizing  power  of  personality:  "Let  us  never  forget 
that  the  business  of  an  instructer  begins  where  the  office  of 
a  book  ends.  It  is  the  action  of  mind  upon  mind,  exciting, 
awakening,  showing  by  example  the  power  of  reasoning  and 
the  scope  of  generalization,  and  rendering  it  impossible  that 
the  pupil  should  not  think ;  this  is  the  noble  and  the  enno- 
bling duty  of  an  instructer. ' '  The  later  address  is  notable  for 
its  broad  review  of  the  progress  of  education  in  America  dur- 
ing the  preceding  quarter-century.  It  ends  with  an  eloquent 
passage  on  the  work  of  the  teacher,  the  concluding  lines  of 
which  may  well  stand  here  as  his  own  most  fitting  praise ; 
for  Francis  Wayland  will  be  longest  remembered  because 
of  what  he  did  to  educate  the  young  men  of  his  day  and  to 
influence  the  education  of  the  future:  "Our  best  efforts  in 
behalf  of  our  pupils  are  frequently  those  ^^'hich  are  most 
rarely  appreciated.  But  let  us  remember  that  truth  is  the 
daughter  of  time.  The  results  of  honest  and  faithful  eflfort 
will,  in  the  end,  be  acknowledged;  but  whether  acknow- 
ledged or  not,  there  thev  remain, and  they  can  ne\er  be  an- 
nihilated. We  labor  not  to  shape  rude  matter  into  forms 

I   315   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  beauty  or  magnificence,  but  to  cultivate  the  immortal 
mind,  to  invigorate  the  intellect,  and  adorn  with  social  grace 
and  elevate  by  Christian  principles,  the  spiritual  nature  of 
man." 


C   316-   ] 


CHAPTEl^  VTIT 
PRESIDENT  SEARS'S  ADiMINISTRATION 

MODIFICATION  OF  THE  NEW  SYSTEM   :   SCHOLARSHIPS  AND  NEW  ENDOW- 
MENT :   SOCIAL  LIFE  AND   ATHLETICS  :  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

Ar  the  time  of  Dr.  Wa  viand's  resignation  the  most  prom- 
>  inent  Baptist  educator  in  the  United  States,  after  him- 
self, was  the  Rev.Barnas  Sears,  and  consequently  there  was 
general  satisfaction  when  he  was  chosen  president  of  Brown 
University  on  August  21,  1855. 

President  Sears,  the  son  of  a  farmer,  was  born  in  Sandis- 
field,  Massachusetts,  a  small  village  among  the  Berkshire 
hills,  on  November  19, 1802.  After  preparatory  study  under 
a  neighboring  clergyman  and  then  in  the  University  Gram- 
mar School,  he  entered  Brown  in  the  spring  of  1822,  and 
graduated  in  1825.  "Of  his  course  as  a  college  student," 
says  his  biographer.  Dr.  Hovey,  "but  little  is  knoun.  Yet 
from  a  statement  of  later  years  it  is  certain  that  he  made  no 
persistent  effort  to  stand  at  the  head  of  his  class  in  recita- 
tion, but  preferred  a  broader  scholarship,  without 'cram-, 
ming. '  ' '  His  poverty  and  determination  alike  are  seen  in  his 
walking  to  Boston  and  back,  at  one  time  during  his  college 
course,  to  borrow  money.  He  taught  school  in  the  long 
winter  vacations,  and  in  the  summers  laid  stone  walls.  After 
graduation  he  took  a  course  in  Newton  Theological  Institu- 
tion, and  became  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Hart- 
ford in  1827;  but  a  bronchial  affection,  from  which  he  was 
henceforth  never  wholly  free,  caused  him  to  resign  in  1829 
and  accept  the  professorship  of  ancient  languages  in  Hamil- 
ton Literary  and  Theological  Institution,  now  Colgate  Uni- 
versity. In  1833  he  went  abroad  for  two  years  of  study  under 
the  great  German  scholars  of  the  day,  — Tholuck ,  Gesenius, 
Bopp,  Grimm,  Neander,  and  others, — laying  the  founda- 

C   317   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tions  of  that  learning  for  which  he  is  distinguished  among 
the  presidents  of  Brown  University.  At  this  time,  too,  he 
began  to  collect  his  magnificent  library  of  some  seven  thou- 
sand volumes,  chiefly  in  Latin  and  German.  The  year  after 
his  return  he  was  called  to  a  professorship  in  Newton  Theo- 
logical Institution,  where  he  remained  until  1848,  serv- 
ing also  as  president  after  1838.  In  this  position  he  gained 
a  high  reputation  as  a  scholar  and  teacher;  Harvard  Uni- 
versity gave  him  the  degree  of  S.T.D.  in  1841,  and  from 
1841  to  1851  he  was  a  fellow  of  Brown  University.  In 
1848  he  succeeded  Horace  Mann  as  secretary  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Board  of  Education,  and  during  the  next  seven 
years  he  made  permanent  the  reforms  which  the  former 
had  introduced,  disarming  opposition  by  his  tact  and  gen- 
iality. 

In  his  personality,  as  well  as  by  training  and  reputation, 
Dr.  Sears  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  assume  the  guidance 
of  Brown  University  when  Dr.  Wayland  resigned  it.  The 
two  men  were  of  types  so  manifestly  different  that  the  merits 
ot  each  could  be  admitted  without  invidious  comparisons ; 
and  the  new  president  had  the  combined  tact  and  firmness 
needed  for  making  certain  changes  in  policy.  His  gentle 
nature  had  also  a  soothing  effect  that  was  most  wholesome. 
Even  in  the  reports  of  the  presidents  to  the  Executive  Board 
it  is  easy  to  feel,  in  passing  from  the  old  administration  to 
the  new,  that  a  more  gracious  although  resolute  spirit  has 
taken  the  helm. 

The  students  soon  responded  to  the  President's  lovable 
personality.  In  a  report  of  March  8,  1856,  he  says,  "There 
appears  to  be  a  cordial  feeling  towards  the  Faculty,  without 
a  single  demonstration  of  ill-will."  In  October  of  the  same 
year  he  reports  that,  as  a  preventive  measure,  he  has  talked 
freely  with  the  students,  "as  a  friend,  not  as  President," 

C   318   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

spreading  before  them  his  "  views  of  the  kind  of  intercourse 
&  mode  of  life  best  adapted  to  the  happiness  &.  honor  of  the 
membersof  a  Hterary  institution;  .  .  .  what  was  needed  was 
a  spontaneous  feeling  in  favor  of  all  civilizing,  ennobling 
&  refining  influences."  He  adds:  "The  students,  ...  at 
an  adjourned  meeting,  passed  resolutions  \\hich  ^\ould  be 
an  honor  to  any  college.  From  that  time  to  this  the  conduct  of 
the  young  gentlemen  has  been  in  the  highest  degree  com- 
mendable." On  various  occasions,  nevertheless,  President 
Sears  was  obliged  to  inflict  punishments  more  or  less  se\ere, 
expelling  several  students  for  immorality  and  suspending 
others  for  "disturbing  recitations"  and  like  offenses;  but 
he  remained  unrufiled  and  sweet-tempered  always,  remark- 
ing philosophically  after  a  time  of  unrest  in  1859  :  "Every 
thing  has  become  quiet.  .  .  .  The  petty  annoyances  to  which 
students  sometimes  resort  seem  to  be  periodical.  They  come 
&  go  like  a  flock  of  birds,  without  any  very  obvious  rea- 
sons." The  students  as  a  whole  loved  and  respected  Dr. 
Sears  for  the  graciousness  of  his  spirit  and  the  courtesy 
of  his  manner.  "He  was  singularly  attractive,"  says  Dr. 
Hovey,  his  pupil  in  the  seminary, "in  his  intercourse  with 
persons  younger  than  himself.  His  manner  was  that  of  un- 
disguised friendship,  not  that  of  dignified  though  graceful 
condescension.  Young  men  soon  felt  at  home  in  his  study. 
They  were  somehow  made  to  understand  that  he  was  a 
brother  in  spirit,  considerate  of  their  feelings,  their  hopes, 
and  their  anxieties."  "More  than  one  wild,  reckless  stu- 
dent has  been  heard  to  say,"  writes  a  correspondent  to  Dr. 
Hovey,  "that  there  was  no  fun  in  trying  to  'get  a  rise '  on 
their  '  Prex. , '  for  he  was  so  sincerely  respectful  that  it  made 
all  their  efforts  fall  flat  to  the  ground . ' ' 

His  less  rigid  ideas  of  discipline  also  helped  to  relax  the 
tension.  He  early  urged  upon  the  Executive  Board  the  need  of 

C  319  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

affording  the  students  innocent  forms  of  amusement  on  the 
college  grounds,  to  keep  them  from  temptations  in  the  city. 
The  request  of  the  Hterary  societies  to  meet  in  the  evening, 
instead  of  the  afternoon,  was  granted  in  December,  1855; 
thus  was  a  long-standing  cause  of  discontent  removed,  while 
a  beneficial  form  of  evening  entertainment  was  encour- 
aged. The  privilege  of  meeting  in  the  evening  was  doubt- 
less given  to  the  Greek-letter  fraternities  at  the  same  time. 
Another  old  restraint  had  been  removed  by  a  recommen- 
dation of  the  Faculty,  and  a  vote  of  the  Executive  Board 
on  November  9,  1855,"  that  the  law  requiring  the  daily 
visitation  of  student's  rooms  by  the  officers  be  suspended, 
and  that  the  visitation  be  placed  at  the  discretion  of  the 
officers. ' '  The  discreet  officers  have  never  resumed  the  prac- 
tice. The  change  did  not  mean  that  all  students  obeyed  the 
laws,  or  that  the  authorities  thought  they  did,  but  only 
that  this  mode  of  securing  obedience  had  outlived  its  use- 
fulness. Nor  was  there  at  first  any  liberalizing  of  the  other 
laws.  At  the  same  meeting  of  the  Executive  Board  Presi- 
dent Sears  reported  that ' '  there  are  evidences  that  students 
have  led  &  are  still  leading  a  dissolute  life ;  that  they  visit 
billiard-saloons,  eating-saloons,  the  theatre,  &  still  worse 
places  of  resort ;  &  that  gambling  and  intoxication  both  in 
the  college  buildings  &  out  of  them  are  not  without  exam- 
ple." He  asked  for  an  interpretation  of  a  point  that  had 
given  rise  to  a  knotty  problem  in  morals  :  ' '  There  is  in  the 
law,  forbidding  students  to  go  to  the  theatre,  an  indefinite- 
ness  that  needs  to  be  removed.  It  seems  to  be  doubtful 
both  to  the  officers  &  to  the  students  whether  the  opera  is 
included  under  that  prohibition.  Students  have  applied  for 
an  interpretation  of  that  law,  but  have  been  dismissed  with- 
out what  they  asked  for,  but  with  that  which  they  did  not 
ask  for, — namely  with  advice  to  remain  at  their  rooms,  & 

[    320    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVP:RSITY 

thus  keep  themselves  out  of  the  reacli  of  blame  or  harm." 
This  expresses  sympathy  but  not  breadth,  and  the  Execu- 
tive Board  promptly  put  themsehes  on  record  as  ha\ing  no 
doubt  that  opera  was  under  the  ban.  The  laws  forbidding  at- 
tendance on  the  theater,  and  requiring  attendance  at  church 
twice  on  Sunda}-,  were  reprinted  in  1856  and  1865,  and  the 
President  enforced  the  former  law  by  se\'ere  penalties. 

In  directing  the  educational  policy  of  the  institution  Presi- 
dent Sears  had  a  delicate  problem  to  handle.  The  New  Sys- 
tem was  not  working  weW ;  yet  it  was  not  easy  to  apply  a 
remedy  without  hurting  the  feelings  of  its  respected  origi- 
nator, w^ho  was  living  near  by  and  serving  as  fello\\'.  The 
urgent  need  of  modifying  the  system  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  President  Sears's  unpublished  report  to 
the  Executive  Board  on  July  5,  1856,  which  frankly  and 
fearlessly  probes  the  wound  : 

It  seems  to  be  the  united  opinion  of  the  Facult}'  that  the  character  & 
reputation  of  the  University  are  injurious!}^  affected  by  the  low  stand- 
ard of  scholarship  required  for  the  degrees  of  A.M.  &  A. B.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  best  students  of  preparatory  schools,  which  would 
naturally  direct  their  pupils  to  this  college,  now  go  elsewhere;  &,  in 
some  schoob,  so  strong  is  the  aversion  to  our  system  of  college  honors, 
that  the  whole  body  of  students,  which,  in  the  ordinaiy  course  of 
things,  would  enter  this  college,  go  now  to  other  colleges  altogether. 
This  results  chiefly  from  the  interpretation  which  is  generallj'  given  to 
our  peculiar  &  lowered  standard  of  degrees  as  an  open  act  of  under- 
bidding other  colleges,  &  as  a  scramble  for  an  increased  number  of 
students.  Even  the  personal  relations  of  our  professors  are  humiliat- 
ing, so  that  their  intercourse  with  the  officers  of  other  colleges  is  a 
source  of  inortification  rather  than  of  pleasure.  No  college  has  ever 
resorted  to  extra  measures  in  order  to  facilitate  the  acquisition  of  aca- 
demic honors  without  incurring  the  ridicule  &  contempt  of  other  col- 
leges. It  cannot  be  concealed  that,  while,  b)'  such  a  public  sentiment 
against  our  system  of  degrees,  the  better  class  of  students  are  often 
turned  awav  from  us,  we  are  flooded  bv  a  class  of  %oung  men  of  little 

C    321    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

solidity  or  earnestness  of  character,  who  resort  to  this  college  not 
so  much  for  the  sake  of  sound  learning  as  for  the  sake  of  cheap  hon- 
ors. We  now  are  literally  receiving  the  reflise  of  other  colleges.  Stu- 
dents who  cannot  go  through  a  complete  course,  entitling  them  to  the 
degree  of  A.B.  in  other  colleges,  look  upon  this  college  as  a  kind 
of  convenient  establishment  where  they  can  soon  build  up  a  broken- 
down  reputation,  &  take  a  rank  side  by  side  with  those  with  whom 
they  could  not  graduate  in  their  own  college.  To  such  an  extent  has 
this  impression  gone  abroad,  that  applications  are  now  constantly  made 
for  a  degree  by  teachers  &  others  proposing  to  study  only  a  few  weeks 
here  for  fonn's  sake.  We  are  in  danger  of  becoming  an  institution 
rather  for  conferring  degrees  upon  the  unfortunate  than  for  educating 
a  sterling  class  of  men.  With  reference  to  those  who  graduate  here 
as  Masters,  instead  of  being  proud  of  the  distinction,  they  are  gen- 
erally careful  to  speak  of  themselves  as  graduates  &  not  as  Masters 
of  Arts.  They  wish  not  to  draw  upon  themselves  the  scorn  of  the 
graduates  of  other  colleges,  who  believe  that  their  literary  honors  have 
not  been  earned.  Beside  the  meanness  attributed  to  us  in  pretending 
to  a  superiority  which  we  do  not  possess,  there  is  the  evil  of  disturb- 
ing a  common  system  of  academic  honors  understood  &  interpreted 
alike  all  over  the  country.  If  each  college  is  to  have  its  own  private 
interpretation  of  the  degrees  it  confers,  the  whole  subject  will  loose  its 
dignity  &  its  utility.  It  was  indeed  contemplated  that  candidates  for 
the  master's  degree  would  extend  the  period  of  study  to  five  years, 
&  thus  afford  some  reason  for  the  distinction  they  receive,  but  it  is 
said  that  this  expectation  has  not  been  realized  in  a  single  instance. 
Thus  the  value  of  that  degree  has  depreciated  sensibly,  &  there  is  not 
the  shadow  of  a  reason  for  supposing  that  it  implies  more  scholar- 
ship than  did  the  degree  of  A.B.  before  the  change.  Meanwhile  this 
latter  degree  has  become  ambiguous  inasmuch  as  one  may  obtain  it, 
&  bear  the  external  honors  of  one  liberally  educated,  &  yet  not  be 
able  to  give  the  meaning  of  E  plur'ihus  unum.  A  liberally  educated 
man  who  cannot  read  a  sentence  of  Latin  is  a  solecism  in  language. 
Every  member  of  the  Faculty  is  dissatisfied  with  our  present  laws  in 
respect  to  degrees. 

This  was  plain  speaking,  especially  to  men  all  but  one  of 
whom  had  helped  to  launch  the  New  System  ;  but  the  Presi- 

C    322    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

dent  took  pains  to  say  at  the  beginning  of  his  report  that  he 
was  not  criticising  tlie  courses  of  study,  but  only  the  sys- 
tem of  degrees.  He  carried  the  Executive  Board  and  the  Cor- 
poration with  him;  indeed,  the  facts  on  his  side,  then  and  a 
little  later,  were  too  strong  to  be  withstood.  Not  only  \\as 
the  quality  of  the  students  deteriorating,  but  even  the  num- 
bers were  diminishing  again.  In  Dr.  Wayland's  last  year 
they  had  fallen  from  283  to  252  ;  in  1855-56  they  dropped 
to  225,  and  in  1856-57  to  203.  Furthermore,  during  the 
years  1854-58,  when  the  New  System  was  in  full  force,  all 
the  students  then  in  college  having  entered  and  pursued 
their  studies  under  it,  only  111  received  degrees  after  taking 
the  four-year  course;  whereas  during  1846-50,  under  the 
old  system,  when  the  total  attendance  was  much  smaller,  the 
number  so  graduating  had  been  145.  It  was  evident  that, 
instead  of  drawing  many  persons  \\'ho  under  the  former 
system  would  not  have  come  to  college  at  all,  the  New  Sys- 
tem was  acting  chiefly  to  lessen  the  number  of  those  tak- 
ing the  full  course.  Even  the  students  in  the  partial  course, 
already  declining  in  number  in  President  Wayland's  last 
year,  continued  to  decrease,  there  being  but  53  in  1855-56, 
39  in  1856-57, and  25  in  1857-58.  The  scientific  courses 
were  not  faring  well:  in  1856-57  there  were  23  students 
in  "practical  chemistry,"  and  18  in  civil  engineering;  the 
next  year  the  numbers  were  17  and  6  respectively.  The 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy,  in  spite  of  the  very 
easy  terms  on  which  it  was  offered,  had  also  proved  poor 
bait  for  attracting  the  masses;  during  the  last  four  years  of 
Dr.  Wayland's  presidency  there  Mere  but  87  candidates, 
and  of  these  only  14  actually  took  the  degree. 

In  view  of  these  facts  it  was  clearly  necessary  to  do  some- 
thing, but  the  President  proceeded  with  caution  and  good 
judgment.  He  had  no  quarrel  with  the  essential  principles 

C   32f3   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  the  New  System,  which  he  had  approved  in  advance  and 
helped  to  shape.  He  was  in  favor  of  a  certain  amount  of 
election,  of  courses  in  the  practical  applications  of  science, 
and  even  of  abridged  periods  of  study  for  those  who  had 
no  time  or  inclination  for  more ;  but  he  saw  that  it  was  not 
necessary  to  give  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  for  attain- 
ments which  elsewhere  won  only  the  Bachelor  of  Arts  de- 
gree, or  to  lower  the  entrance  requirements  or  shorten  the 
period  of  collegiate  study  for  the  latter.  Accordingly  the  Cor- 
poration voted,  in  September,  1857,  that  in  the  case  of  all 
students  entering  after  that  year  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts  should  be  conferred  only  "in  course,"  upon  those  who 
had  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  at  least  three 
years  before ;  and  that  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  should 
be  given  only  after  four  years  of  study,  including  both  Latin 
and  Greek.  It  followed  as  a  natural  consequence  that  both 
these  languages  were  again  required  for  admission  of  those 
seeking  that  degree.  The  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philoso- 
phy, however,  continued  to  be  given  upon  the  same  condi- 
tions as  before,  except  that  the  candidate  might,  if  he  chose, 
take  one  or  both  ancient  languages,  having  first  passed  the 
entrance  examination  in  the  language  or  languages  which 
he  meant  to  pursue  in  college ;  the  elective  privileges  in  this 
course  also  remained  unchanged.  For  the  degree  of  Bachek)r 
of  Arts  the  requirements  were  now  substantially  those  for 
the  Master  of  Arts  degree  under  Wayland.  Students  in  a 
partial  course  were  still  received,  after  examination  in  "  the 
several  branches  of  a  good  English  education. ' '  The  courses 
in  civil  engineering  and  in  chemistry  applied  to  the  arts 
also  continued  to  be  given  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  cata- 
logue. 

As  a  result  of  these  changes  the  Executive  Board  was  able 
to  say,  with  evident  relief,  in  yi  Sketch  of  the  History  and 

C  324  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  Present  Orgauizat'ion  of  Brown  University^  published  in 
1861,  that  while  "the  increased  opportunities  for  practical 
education  are  still  offered,"  yet  "in  the  order  and  the  course 
of  study,  Brown  University  does  not  now  differ  essentially 
from  her  sister  Colleges  of  the  United  States."  The  under- 
graduates also  approved  of  the  change,  The  Broum  Paper 
saying  in  the  issue  of  1857,  "Under  his  government  the 
University  has  returned  from  the  experiment  of  the  last  few 
years,  towards  the  good  old  system  —  a  change  which  has 
been  hailed  by  the  undergraduates,  at  least,  with  undi- 
vided favor."  Social  considerations  seem  to  have  ^^■eighed 
heavily  with  the  students,  however,  and  made  them  object 
even  to  the  continuation  of  the  three-year  course  for  Bach- 
elors of  Philosophy. ' '  Our  system  of  three  years  men, ' '  said 
The  Brown  Paper  of  1 865,  ' '  mars  in  some  degree  the  unity 
of  action  in  the  class,  for  it  introduces  among  its  members 
those  ^^'ho,  for  two  years,  have  been  with  other  classes,  .  .  . 
and  who,  for  the  most  part,  (with,  however,  some  honor- 
able exceptions,)  are  too  lazy  to  enter  on  a  full  course.  .  .  . 
All  regular  course  students  will  hail  the  day  when  the  '  Par- 
tial Course'  receives  an  inglorious  burial." 

The  other  changes  in  entrance  requirements  and  cur- 
riculum were  few  and  relatively  unimportant.  Greek  com- 
position, which  had  been  struck  out  of  the  requirement 
for  admission  in  1854,  was  restored  in  1857,  and  in  1860 
four  books  of  the  Anabasis  were  added.  After  this  year  can- 
didates for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy  had  to  pass 
entrance  examinations  in  both  Latin  and  Greek  if  they  took 
either  language  in  college.  The  curriculum  in  1861-62  for 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  may  be  given  as  represent- 
ative of  the  course  of  studies  through  nearly  the  whole  of 
President  Sears 's  term  of  office: 

C   325   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Freshman  Year 
First  Term.  Greek  historians,  with  Greek  composition  and  the  history 
of  Greece;  Livy,  with  Latin  composition  and  the  history  of  Rome; 
geometry. 

Second  Term.  The  Iliad.,  with  Greek  composition;  Li\y,  De  Senec- 
tute.,  De  Amicitia.,  with  Latin  composition;  algebra. 

Sophomore  Year 
First   Term.  Demosthenes,  with  Greek  composition;   Horace,  with 
Latin  composition;  plane  and  spherical  trigonometr}^ ;  French;  rhet- 
oric, with  essays. 

Second  Term.  Demosthenes,  with  Greek  composition;  Horace, 
with  Latin  composition;  French;  analytical  geometr}^  or  physiolog^'; 
rhetoric,  with  essays. 

Junior  Year 
First  Term.  Mechanics;  rhetoric,  with  essays  and  declamations;  chem- 
istry; Latin;  Greek. 

Second  Term.  Astronomy;  historj^  of  English  literature,  with  es- 
says and  declamations;  physiology,  or  two  of  the  following:  geology; 
political  economy ;  Cicero  or  Tacitus,  with  Latin  composition ;  Sopho- 
cles or  Euripides,  with  Greek  composition. 

Senior  Year 
First  Term.  Intellectual  philosophy;  modem  histor\";  one  of  the  fol- 
lowing: Tacitus  and  Plato;  Gennan. 

Second  Tej-m.  Moral  philosophy;  English  and  American  history, 
constitutional  and  international  law ;  German,  or  two  of  the  follow- 
ing: geology;  political  economy;  Cicero;  Sophocles  or  Euripides. 

The  limitations  of  this  academic  bill  of  fare  are  obyious  ;  but 
it  is  full  of  highly  nutritiye  material,  which,  if  well  cooked 
and  well  digested,  could  not  fail  to  make  intellectual  boneand 
muscle.  The  preparation  and  administering  of  this  mental 
diet  were  in  the  hands  of  an  able  Faculty.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Sears,  who  taught  mental  and  moral 
philosophy,  the  Rey.  Alexis  Caswell,  D.D.,  was  professor 
of  natural  philosophy  and  astronomy;  George  L  Chace, 

C   S^6  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

LL.D. ,  professor  of  chemistry  and  physiology,  and  of  chem- 
istry appHed  to  the  arts;  WiHiam  Gammell,  A.M.,  pro- 
fessor of  history  and  political  economy;  John  L.  Lincoln, 
A.M.,  professor  of  the  Latin  language  and  literature;  the 
Rev.  Robinson  P.  Dunn,  A.M.,  professor  of  rhetoric  and 
English  literature;  James  B.  Angell,  A.M.,  professor  of 
modern  languages  ;  Samuel  S.  Greene,  A.M.,  professor  of 
mathematicsandcivil  engineering ;  Albert  Harkness,  Ph.D. , 
professor  of  the  Greek  language  and  literature  ;  Nathaniel 
P.  Hill,  assistant  to  the  professor  of  chemistry  ;  Reuben  A. 
Guild,  A.M.,  librarian.  Many  of  these  men  were  of  un- 
usual power  or  charm,  and  most  of  them  remained  in  the 
service  of  the  college  throughout  the  administration. 

The  first  to  leave  was  Professor  Angell,  who  resigned  to 
become  editor  of  The  Providence  Journal  m  1860;  his  sub- 
sequent career  as  president  of  the  University  of  Vermont 
and  the  University  of  Michigan,  as  minister  to  China  and 
Turkey,  and  as  member  of  various  international  commis- 
sions, is  well  known.  His  mental  clarity  and  grace  and  his 
genial  personality  made  him  a  stimulating  and  popular  pro- 
fessor. A  glimpse  of  his  work  is  affbrded  by  the  follow  ing 
entry  in  the  student's  journal  before  referred  to,  under  date 
of  March  20,  1855  :  "Prof.  A.,  much  to  our  satisfaction, 
dispensed  with  the  review,  etc.  and  proceeded  with  his 
interesting  description  of  Germany.  The  subject  to-day 
w'as  the  life  of  a  German  student.  .  .  .  Altogether  my  desire 
to  try  my  luck  at  a  German  University  was  greatly  increased 
&  in  company  with  others  I  spent  some  time  after  most  of 
the  class  had  left,  asking  questions  &  obtaining  additional 
information."  No  one  succeeded  to  Professor  Angell's  chair 
for  some  years,  the  modern  languages  being  taught  by  the 
President  or  by  instructors. 

Professor  Caswell,  after  thirty-six  years  of  service,  re- 
C   327   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

signed  his  professorship  in  1864 ;  he  was  succeeded  in  the 
chair  of  natural  philosophy  and  astronomy  by  Professor 
Greene. 

Mr.  Hill,  who  in  1859  had  been  promoted  to  be  professor 
of  chemistry  applied  to  the  arts,  withdrew  from  the  uni- 
versity in  1865  to  engage  in  mining  operations  in  Colorado, 
where  he  directed  many  large  enterprises  and  was  elected 
United  States  senator,  ^y  his  great  ability  and  fine  char- 
acter he  made  a  deep  impression  on  colleagues  and  pupils 
in  a  comparatively  short  term  of  service;  and  he  left  a  per- 
manent memorial  of  himself  in  the  chemical  laboratory, 
in  the  planning  of  which  he  took  a  leading  part.  After  his 
resignation  Professor  Chace  resumed  charge  of  the  work  in 
chemistry,  assisted  by  several  instructors. 

In  1864  Professor  Gammell  severed  his  long  connection 
with  the  Faculty.  He  was  born  in  Medfield,  Massachusetts, 
on  February  10,  1812,  the  son  of  a  Baptist  clergyman,  a 
trustee  of  the  college.  He  entered  Brown  University  in  1827, 
and  graduated  in  1831  at  the  head  of  his  class.  After  a  year 
as  principal  of  an  academy,  he  returned  to  his  Alma  Mater 
as  tutor  ;  became  assistant  professor  of  belles-lettres  in  1835, 
and  professor  of  rhetoric  in  1837,  also  teaching  a  course  in 
history  after  1843  ;  in  1850  he  was  transferred  to  the  chair 
of  history  and  political  economy,  which  he  held  until  1864. 
The  remaining  years  of  his  life  were  filled  with  varied 
activities.  Besides  serving  as  fellow  of  the  university  from 
1870  till  his  death,  he  aided  in  the  foundation  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Hospital,  was  trustee  of  the  Butler  Hospital,  and 
president  of  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  the  Provi- 
dence Athenaeum,  and  the  Rhode  Island  Bible  Society.  He 
died  in  Providence  on  April  3,  1889,  leaving  the  college  a 
fund  of  $10,000  for  the  purchase  of  books  relating  to  the 
history  of  the  United  States. 

C   328   3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Professor  Gammell  was  one  of  the  strongest  members  of 
the  Faculty.  "  As  a  critic  of  college  writing,"  says  his  pupil 
and  biographer,  Dean  James  O.  Murray,  of  Princeton,  "  he 
was  altogether  admirable.  He  was  ever  ready  to  praise  good 
work.  .  .  .  He  could  not  endure  flashy  nor  meretricious 
ornament.  Above  all,  he  disliked  obscurity,  fustian,  and 
affectation  of  every  sort. "Dean  Murray  admits,  however, 
that  his  teaching  of  rhetoric  "may  ha\e  tended  somew  hat  too 
strongly  in  the  direction  of  the  coldly  elegant."  Professor 
George  P.  Fisher,  of  Yale,  the  historian,  writes:  "I  have  spe- 
cial occasion  toexpress  an  indebtedness  to  his  kind,  thought- 
ful assistance  in  initiating  me  into  historical  studies.  One 
day  he  in^'ited  me  to  his  room,  and  showed  to  me  several 
volumes  of  manuscript  correspondence  of  Roger  Williams, 
which  had  just  been  added  to  the  collections  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Historical  Society.  He  gave  tome  this  correspondence 
as  a  theme  for  a  composition,  and  let  me  come  to  his  room, 
from  time  to  time,  to  examine  it,  and  prepare  for  my  task." 
Professor  J.  H.  Gilmore,  of  the  University  of  Rochester, 
says:  "I  think  I  especially  appreciated  .  .  .  Professor  Gam- 
mell's  o&Yf/T//<7to,  his  incidental  remarks  concerning  men  and 
things  of  our  own  day.  He  was  animated  by  a  sturdy  con- 
tempt for  humbugs  and  shams ;  and,  as  I  recall  his  teach- 
ings, his  influence  seems  to  have  been  broadening  and  lib- 
eralizing beyond  that  of  most  of  my  professors."  "There 
was  no  open  text-book  on  his  desk,"  writes  Dr.  Henry  S. 
Burrage,  state  historian  of  Maine,  in  a  recent  letter;  "his 
own  mastery  of  the  lesson  seemed  complete,  and  his  fund 
of  illustrative  material  was  large  and  always  easily  ready 
for  use.  I  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  him  for  a  silent, 
forceful  influence,  that  lured  me  into  most  delightful  fields 
of  historical  research."  Of  his  personal  qualities  President 
James  B.  Angell  says :  "There  was  something  in  his  bear- 

C  329  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ing,  in  his  neatness  of  dress,  in  his  elegance  of  language, 
that  rebuked  coarseness,  vulgarity,  and  untidiness  in  a  man- 
ner not  unsalutary  to  young  men  living  by  themselves  in 
dormitories  and  in  commons  hall." 

Professor  Gammell  wrote  the  lives  of  Roger  Williams 
and  Samuel  Ward,  published  in  1845  and  1846  in  the  Li- 
brary of  American  Biography  edited  by  Jared  Sparks,  bas- 
ing both  upon  original  investigations.  In  1850  he  brought 
out  a  history  of  American  Baptist  missions ;  the  liberal  spirit 
of  the  book  won  praise  from  The  North  Ameiicnn  Review, 
which  said :  ' '  We  look  in  vain  for  the  language  of  bigotry, 
exclusiveness,  or  unkindness.  The  most  generous  notice  is 
uniformly  taken  of  the  missionaries  of  other  sects  ;  and  the 
ashes  of  buried  controversy  are  in  every  instance  left  un- 
disturbed." Reread  many  papers  before  the  Rhode  Island 
Historical  Society,  some  of  which  have  been  printed.  From 
1850  to  1852  he  was  associate  editor  of  The  Christiaji  Re- 
view. He  frequently  contributed  articles  to  The  Providence 
Journal  on  a  wide  range  of  topics ;  and  during  the  Civil 
War  he  wrote  Meekly  letters  for  The  Examiner^  a  Bap- 
tist newspaper  in  New  York,  which  "attracted  wide  and 
special  attention,"  says  his  biographer,  "  and  were  com- 
plimented in  the  warmest  terms  by  the  great  war  secretary, 
the  Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton."  Such  was  the  first  professor 
of  history  in  Brown  University.  He  was  succeeded  by  one 
of  his  pupils,  the  Rev.  John  L.  Diman. 

The  other  professors  on  the  Faculty  in  1855  served 
through  President  Sears's  administration,  and  someof  them 
much  longer,  notably  those  ' '  Great  Twin  Brethren  ' '  in  the 
classics.  Professors  Lincoln  and  Harkness,  who  spread  the 
fame  of  the  university  so  far,  through  so  many  years.  Among 
the  instructors  who  joined  the  teaching  staff  during  the  pres- 
idency of  Dr.  Sears  were  two  destined  to  long  and  distin- 

[   330  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

guished  terms  of  service,  Benjamin  F.  Clarke,  of  the  depart- 
ment of  mathematics,  and  John  H.  Appleton,  of  the  depart- 
ment of  chemistry,  both  of  \\  hom  began  teaching  in  1863. 
In  1864  Mr.  ElHott,  who  had  given  faithful  labor  as  steward 
or  registrar  since  1827,  yielded  place  to  the  Rev.  William 
Douglas,  of  the  class  of  1839. 

There  was  a  considerable  increase  in  salaries  during  this 
administration.  President  Sears  received  $1850  until  1859, 
when  his  salary  was  raised  to  $2250  and  he  \\as  paid 
$1200  additional  as  back  pay  for  four  years.  The  profess- 
ors' salaries  ^^ent  up  to  $1500  in  1858,  Professor  Caswell 
receiving  $100  and  Professor  Chace  $300  extra  for  addi- 
tional work ;  the  librarian  was  paid  $900,  as  before,  and 
the  registrar's  salary  was  increased  to  $1200  ;  the  instructor 
in  chemistry  received  $500.  The  presidential  and  profes- 
sorial salaries  remained  at  these  figures  until  1864,  in  spite 
of  the  jump  in  prices  caused  by  the  war.  The  Corporation 
then  met  the  situation  by  raising  the  President's  salary  to 
$2500,  besides  $500  for  teaching  German,  and  the  pro- 
fessors'salaries  to  $1800  each  ;  the  librarian received$1200, 
the  registrar  $1500,  less  the  rent  of  his  living-rooms  in 
University  Hall,  and  the  instructors  from  $400  to  $1000. 
In  1866  the  salaries  of  the  President,  professors,  librarian, 
and  registrar  were  increased  by  $700  each,  and  the  two 
senior  instructors  received  $1500  and  $1200. 

These  additions  to  the  expenses  could  not  have  been  safely 
made  without  increase  of  endowment,  for  the  receipts  from 
tuition  were  nearly  uniform.  The  growth  in  productive 
funds,  however,  had  been  slow.  The  treasurer's  reports  show 
that  in  September,  1856,  the  total  was  $203,050,  and  in 
1859  only  $1000  more.  The  report  of  a  special  committee 
in  October,  1863,  stated  that  the  total  funds  were  then 
$224,050 ;  but  expenses  had  exceeded  the  income  for  two 

C   331    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

or  three  years,  and  there  was  a  debt  of  $30,000.  The  com- 
mittee urged  renewed  vigor  in  the  campaign  already  on  foot 
to  raise  at  least  $150,000,  and  recommended  granting  more 
scholarships  to  increase  the  attendance,  omitting  the  courses 
in  civil  engineering  and  political  economy,  and  distributing 
the  work  in  history  among  three  other  professors  when  the 
chair  of  history  should  become  vacant.  The  course  in  civil 
engineering  was  given  up ;  but  instead  of  contracting  the 
curriculum  any  further,  the  Corporation  raised  the  tuition, 
in  1864,  from  $36  to  $50.  The  attendance  at  once  fell  from 
202  to  185,  and  in  1865-66  to  176  ;  but  the  next  year,  the 
last  under  Dr.  Sears,  it  rose  to  190. 

The  subject  of  scholarships  and  of  a  new  fund  for  gen- 
eral purposes  had  already  received  careful  attention.  In  1858 
the  University  Premiums  had  been  converted  into  eleven 
scholarships,  each  the  income  of  $1000,  named  after  Nicho- 
las Brown,  the  donor  of  the  funds  from  which  they  were 
derived.  In  1859  the  Rev.  Horace  T.  Love  was  employed  as 
a  joint  agent  by  Brown  University  and  Waterville  College 
to  collect  subscriptions  for  scholarships  and  other  objects, 
the  subscribers  indicating  which  institution  they  wished  to 
aid.  This  agreement  terminated  in  1863  ;  but  the  raising  of 
funds  went  on  for  years,  and  at  the  end  of  Dr.  Sears's 
administration  subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  $259,000 
had  been  received,  largely  through  the  President's  individual 
efforts.  Of  the  old  and  new  friends  who  came  to  the  univer- 
sity's aid  at  this  time  may  be  mentioned  Robert  H.  Ives, 
Thomas  P.  Ives,  Gardner  Colby,  Jefferson  Borden,  Gov- 
ernor William  Sprague,  William  S.  Slater,  William  H. 
Reynolds,  Earl  P.  Mason,  Horatio  N.  Slater,  and  John  Car- 
ter Brown,  son  of  Nicholas  Brown,  who  subscribed  sums 
ranging  from  $8000  to  $30,000.  A  notew^orthy  fact  is  that 
several  gave  again  and  again  during  the  eight  years  of  the 

C   332   ^ 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

canvass,  responding  w  ith  sustained  loyalty  to  the  continued 
and  growing  needs  of  the  college.  A  considerable  portion  of 
the  fund  was  paid  in  rather  slowly  ;  but  interest  was  received 
regularlv  on  $64,000  of  the  outstanding  pledges,  and  the 
treasurer's  report  for  1866-67  shows  funds  of  $327,000, 
yielding  dividends  of  $16,438.  Under  the  new  rates  for  tui- 
tion the  term  bills  that  year  brought  in  $15,000,  making 
an  income  of  more  than  $31,000.  Thirtv-four  scholarships 
had  also  been  established,  in  addition  to  the  eleven  already 
mentioned ;  and  although  these  were  not  directly  productive, 
they  at  least  helped  to  prevent  the  number  of  students  from 
falling  off  greatly  during  the  Civil  War. 

Another  addition  to  the  scholarship  funds  was  secured  by 
government  action  during  this  administration ,  although  most 
of  the  money  did  not  come  into  the  treasury  until  after  Presi- 
dent Sears  had  retired.  On  July  2, 1862,  Congress  passed  a 
bill  giving  land  scrip  to  such  states  and  territories  as  should 
provide  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts.  Rhode  Island's  share  was  120,000  acres.  The 
legislature,  at  the  January  session  of  1863,  accepted  the  grant , 
and  assigned  the  land  scrip  to  Brown  University  on  condi- 
tion that  it  establish  a  college  or  department  of  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts  and  educate  scholars  ' '  at  the  rate  of 
one  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  to  the  extent  of  the  entire 
annual  income"  from  the  sale  of  the  lands.  The  Executive 
Board,  to  whom  the  Corporation  referred  the  matter,  ac- 
cepted the  offer,  and  requested  President  Sears,  assisted  by 
the  Rev.  Horace  T.  Love,  to  select  the  lands.  Dr.  Sears  and 
Mr.  Love  spent  the  summer  vacation  of  1863  in  examining 
and  choosing  a  part  of  them,  and  the  former  reported  the 
results  to  the  Corporation  at  their  meeting  in  the  autumn. 
It  was  then  seen  that  the  task  was  a  difficult  one,  and  a  com- 
mittee of  five,  with  the  President  as  chairman,  was  appointed 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

to  take  charge  of  the  whole  matter.  This  committee,  finding 
that  the  cost  of  locating  the  lands,  paying  taxes,  negotiating 
sales,  and  defending  some  of  the  titles  would  be  considerable, 
and  being  allowed  by  the  Corporation  only  a  limited  sum  for 
expenses,  sold  the  whole  to  Mr.  Love,  on  January  31, 1865, 
for  $50,000,  taking  his  notes,  secured  by  United  States 
bonds,  and  payable  without  interest  at  various  times  during 
the  next  five  years.  The  bargain  proved  later  to  have  been 
a  bad  one  for  the  university,  as  the  lands  rose  greatly  in 
value,  and  the  authorities  were  subjected  to  sharp  criticism; 
but  at  the  time  the  college  seemed  justified  in  selling  at  once, 
as  most  of  the  other  colleges  did.  In  1894  the  funds  were 
transferred  by  the  university  to  the  state  of  Rhode  Island, 
the  university  receiving  from  the  state  the  sum  of  $40,000 
in  requital  of  its  claim  upon  a  fund  established  by  Congress 
in  1890  for  instruction  in  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts. 
There  were  few  additions  to  the  grounds  and  buildings 
during  Dr.  Sears 's  presidency.  In  1860,  when  Prospect 
Street  was  extended  to  George  Street,  the  so-called  Bowen 
estate,  at  the  corner  of  the  two  streets,  seventy  feet  by  a 
hundred  and  thirty,  was  bought  by  John  Carter  Brown  for 
$10,000,  and  given  to  the  university  on  condition  that  it 
be  forever  kept  clear  of  buildings.^  In  the  summer  of  1857 
Robert  H.  Ives  and  Moses  B.  Ives  had  the  walls  of  the  chapel 
painted,  the  ceiling  frescoed,  and  a  tablet  with  a  Latin  in- 
scription by  Professor  Lincoln  erected  to  the  memory  of 
Nicholas  Brown,  and  John  Carter  Brown  put  in  stained- 
glass  windows.  The  only  new  building  in  this  administra- 
tion was  the  Chemical  Laboratory.  The  New  System  em- 
phasized the  value  of  laboratory  work  in  chemistry,  and  for 

'  The  Bowen  house,  in  recent  years  known  as  the  Pendleton  house,  was  re- 
moved from  this  site,  at  the  same  time,  to  its  present  location,  72  Waterman 
Street. 

C   334   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

some  years  the  conviction  had  been  growing  that  there 
was  need  of  better  facilities  for  it.  Largely  by  the  eftbrts  of 
Professor  Hill,  subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  $14,250  were 
finally  obtained,  Seth  Padelford  gi\ing  $5000;  and  in  the 
spring  of  1862  a  committee  of  the  Executive  Board  was 
authorized  to  erect  a  laboratory  ' '  upon  the  open  lot  East  of 
the  present  college  grounds,  and  East  of,  and  near  to,  the 
proposed  line  of  Brown  Street. "It  was  completed  within  a 
year,  at  a  cost  of  $12,500,  with  some  $2500  more  for  ap- 
paratus and  fittings.  The  building,  which  was  fifty  feet  by 
forty,  with  a  projection  of  thirty-five  feet  by  fifty-five  on  the 
east  side,  had  ample  accommodations  for  some  years  to  come; 
and  the  interior  arrangement,  planned  by  Professor  Hill  and 
his  assistant,  John  Peirce,  was  admirable. 

Two  records  in  the  archives  may  be  mentioned  here  for 
the  light  they  throw  on  the  condition  of  the  college  grounds 
at  this  time.  The  chairman  of  the  building  committee  for 
the  laboratory  reported  to  the  Executive  Board  on  May  5, 

1863,  that  he  had  made  a  contract  the  autumn  before  "for 
a  path  seven  feet  wide  leading  from  Waterman  to  George 
Street,  and  also  for  a  path  six  feet  wide  leading  from  the 
Library  to  the  New  Laboratory ' ' ;  the  paths  were  of  cin- 
ders and  gravel,  dry  in  all  weathers,  and  the  first  one  was 

constantly  used  by  the  public. ' '  The  second  record  gives  a 
less  pleasing  picture :  a  committee  reported  on  December  9, 

1864,  that  "in  the  absence  of  any  regular  system  of  drain- 
age, or  proper  conveniences  for  the  removal  of  dirty  water 
from  the  rooms,  this  water  is  often  emptied  from  the  win- 
dows, defiling  the  grounds,  and  creating  an  offensive  efilu- 
via  [^sic]  in  the  summer." 

The  Corporation  during  Dr.  Sears's  twelve  years  as 
president  was  subject  to  the  usual  changes ;  but  half  of  the 
fellowship  was  the  same  at  the  end  as  at  the  beginning, 

C   335   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

and  twenty-one  of  the  trustees  remained.  Three  treasurers 
held  office  under  President  Sears — Moses  B.  Ives,  RobertH. 
Ives,  and  Marshall  Woods,  who  handled  the  growing  busi- 
ness interests  of  the  university  with  shrewdness  and  sound 
judgment  through  the  trying  years  just  before  and  during 
the  Civil  War.  The  Executive  Board,  which  had  played 
so  active  a  part  since  its  creation  in  1850,  was  abolished  in 
1865.  No  one  can  look  through  the  records  without  being 
impressed  by  the  energy  and  devotion  of  these  men,  who 
gave  so  much  time  and  thought  to  the  affairs  of  the  college 
during  some  of  its  most  critical  years ;  most  of  the  labor, 
moreover,  fell  upon  a  few,  who  were  often  reelected  and 
served  for  long  periods.  But  the  Corporation  apparently 
violated  the  charter  by  intrusting  to  a  specially  created 
board  the  enacting  and  enforcement  of  college  regulations  — 
functions  expressly  reserved  to  the  fellows  —  and  by  cloth- 
ing it  with  general  powers  which  the  charter  delegates  to 
"the  minor  quorum . ' '  The  Executive  Board  practically  took 
over  the  entire  immediate  government  of  the  college,  deter- 
mining the  sites  of  buildings,  passing  on  cases  of  disci- 
pHne,  attempting  to  influence  the  choice  of  textbooks,  and 
even  forcing  the  resignation  of  professors.  In  1865  certain 
members,  according  to  President  Sears,  tried  to  compel  the 
committee  on  the  public  lands  to  report  to  the  board,  and 
this  seems  to  have  been  the  immediate  cause  of  its  being 
abolished . 

The  only  important  change  e»'er  made  in  the  charter  came 
about  in  1863,  and  concerned  the  exemption  of  professors 
from  taxation.  The  exemption  had  early  provoked  opposi- 
tion, which  found  expression  in  a  Providence  town  meet- 
ing in  1774.  A  letter  of  February  6,  1774,  preserved  in 
the  John  Carter  Brown  Library,  indicates  that  the  Corpo- 
ration were  preparing  to  strengthen  their  case  by  showing 

C   336  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

that  other  colleges  had  the  same  privileges  ;  it  is  written  by 
Henry  Llo3'd,  of  Boston,  to  Nicholas  Brown  and  Company, 
and  savs  that  the  Rew  Dr.  Pemberton,  an  overseer  of  Har- 
vard College,  affirms  that  the  president,  professors,  and  tn- 
tors  at  Harvard,  as  well  as  the  college  lands,  are  exempted 
from  all  taxes  by  an  act  of  the  province.  Two  papers  in  the 
uni^'ersity  archives  prove  that  some  members  of  the  Cor- 
poration were  willing  to  compromise.  One  paper,  dated 
April  19,  1774,  is  signed  by  Thomas  Green,  a  trustee,  and 
pledges  him  and  the  other  subscribers  to  make  an  effort  to 
have  the  college  pay  town  taxes,  except  on  the  college  hull, 
the  president's  house  and  garden,  and  the  college  yard.  The 
other  paper  is  in  the  hand  of  David  Howell,  and  is  indorsed, 
' '  Rough  Draft  of  what  propos'd  by  Mr  Howell  Abot :  payg: 
the  Town  Tax  as  Profeser  of  the  College  &c  "  ;  it  runs  as 
follows : 

In  order  to  put  an  end  to  a  dispute  at  present  subsisting  betwixt  the 
Corporation  of  the  College  and  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Town  con- 
cerning the  town  rates  of  the  President  &  Professors  of  sd  College 
the  members  of  sd  Corporation  present  in  Town  meeting  do  for  them- 
selves agree  &  consent  for  the  sake  of  restoring  peace  &  tranquillity 
to  the  town  &  College  that  sd  President  and  Professors  shall  pay 
every  town  tax  that  is  or  may  be  assessed  upon  either  of  their  private 
estates  in  the  same  manner  as  other  Inhabitants  of  the  town  pro\ided 
no  incroachments  be  made  upon  any  other  of  the  Charter  rights  of  sd 
College. 

The  opponents  of  the  exemption  published  resolutions  in 
The  Providence  Gazette  o^Fehrimvy  12,  1774,  affirming  that 
the  legislature  had  no  right  to  limit  the  town's  levy  of  taxes  ; 
but  nothing  more  seems  to  have  come  of  the  movement. 

Nearly  a  century  later,  in  1863,  the  matter  came  up 
again.  It  was  urged  that  in  time  past  professors  had  retained 
a  nominal  connection  with  the  college  for  the  sake  of  secur- 

[   337   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ing  large  estates  from  taxation,  and  might  do  so  again;  and 
that  by  marriage  to  members  of  the  Faculty  the  owners  of 
great  properties  might  escape  taxation  in  a^ay  quite  beyond 
the  intent  of  the  charter.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  on 
January  21,  1863,  during  a  discussion  of  the  proposed  re- 
peal of  the  exemption  clause  by  the  state  legislature,  a  state- 
ment by  the  President  and  Faculty  was  read,  to  the  effect 
that,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned,  they  wished  to  "place 
this  whole  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  Corporation , ' '  and  would 
waive  their  rights  of  exemption  if  it  were  ' '  for  the  advan- 
tage of  the  College."  On  February  11  it  was  reported  to  the 
Corporation  that  the  legislature  had  that  day  passed  an  act 
limiting  the  exemption  to  $10,000  for  each  member  of  the 
Faculty,  if  the  Corporation  consented ;  consent  was  given, 
and  the  change  became  law. 

Commencements  under  President  Sears  retained  their 
former  merit  and  popularity.  The  first  one,  in  1856,  has 
some  special  interest  because  the  philosophical  oration  was 
delivered  by  Richard  Olney,  a  future  Secretary  of  State, 
who  spoke  on  "Patriotism  in  Literature."  Of  the  speeches 
The  Providence  J  oimial  said:  "The  themes  were  chosen  with 
excellent  taste,  and  related  more  thanisusual  to  the  live  topics 
of  the  age.  It  is  but  justice  to  say  that  the  young  gentlemen 
acquitted  themselves  in  a  manner  that  .  .  .  would  ha\e  done 
credit  to  older  scholars.  "The  dinner  was  attended  by  about 
four  hundred;  Dr.  Wayland  was  given  a  seat  of  honor,  and 
sincere  compliments  passed  between  him  and  the  new  Presi- 
dent. The  missionary  sermon  of  the  evening  before  was 
by  theRev.Dr.Ezekiel  G.Robinson,  professor  in  Roches- 
ter Theological  Seminary,  and  the  Journal  referred  to  it  as 
' '  one  of  the  best  discourses  of  the  kind  to  ^^'hich  we  have  for 
a  long  time  been  permitted  to  Hsten."  In  1865,  near  the  end 
of  Dr.  Sears' s  administration,  the  Commencement  speeches 

C   338   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

by  the  graduating  class  received  high  praise  from  Governor 
Andrew,  of  Massachusetts,  who  (as  the  Journal  reported) 
said  at  the  dinner:  "Having  attended  many  Commence- 
ments, I  have  never  heard  greater  maturity  of  thought,  or 
greater  justness  and  accuracy  both  of  style  and  expression. 
The  range  of  topics  and  the  variety  of  their  treatment  w  ere 
also  remarkable. "  At  this  Commencement,  for  the  first  time 
in  many  years,  the  speakers  did  not  wear  academic  gowns. 
Distinguished  men  from  abroad  delivered  addresses  or  poems 
on  various  occasions  during  Commencement  week  through- 
out President  Sears' s  administration,  adding  greatly  to  the 
intellectual  richness  of  the  anniversaries.  Among  these  may 
be  mentioned  the  Hon.  S.  S.  Cox,  Wendell  Phillips,  George 
William  Curtis,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Peabody,  editor  of  The  North 
American  Review^  the  Rev.  Dr.  Storrs,  the  Rev.  S.  F.  Smith, 
who  read  a  patriotic  poem  before  the  literary  societies  in  1 86 1 , 
William  Winter,  Professors  Edwards  A.  Park  and  Charles 
Eliot  Norton,  Colonel  Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson,  and 
General  O.  O.  Howard. 

Commencement  week  of  1864  was  memorable  for  the 
centennial  celebration  of  the  founding  of  the  university.  The 
observance  was  simple,  probably  because  of  the  war  still 
raging,  but  the  exercises  were  interesting  and  impressive. 
On  Tuesday,  September  6,  the  day  before  Commencement, 
President  Sears  delivered  an  able  "Centennial  Discourse" 
in  the  First  Baptist  Meeting-House,  reviewing  the  history 
of  the  institution.  This  was  preceded  by  a  centennial  ode 
written  by  Bishop  George  Burgess,  of  the  class  of  1826,  and 
set  to  music  by  Professor  E.  A.  Kelley.  A  dinner  followed 
the  address,  in  the  great  tent  on  the  college  grounds,  and 
was  attended  by  about  seven  hundred.  The  Hon.  John  H. 
Clifford  presided,  and  many  distinguished  men  spoke — Dr. 
Wayland,  Professor  Gold  win  Smith,  of  the  University  of 

C    ^f^9    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Oxford,  H.  G.  Jones,  representing  a  delegation  from  the 
Philadelphia  Baptist  Association,  General  Burnside,  George 
William  Curtis,  Professor  Caswell,  and  others ;  several  poems 
were  read,  including  one  by  John  Hay.  On  the  same  day 
was  published  Maiming  and  Brown  University^  by  Librarian 
R.  A.  Guild,  whose  History  of  Brown  University  appeared 
three  years  later. 

The  social  and  festive  sides  of  Commencement  week  were 
still  attractive,  and  Commencement  itself  was  yet  something 
of  a  holiday.  Up  to  1860  The  Providence  Journal  contmned 
to  announce  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  September,  "This 
being  Commencement  day,  no  paper  will  be  issued  from 
this  office  to-morrow."  Of  the  Commencement  of  1859  a 
letter  from  Providence  in  The  Boston  Journal  said :  ' '  There 
is  a  scattering  display  of  flags,  so  that  on  the  whole,  the 
appearance  of  the  city  is  gay  and  animated.  .  .  .  The  An- 
tiques and  Horribles'  .  .  .  were  out  in  numbers.  .  .  .  The 
great  sea  serj^ent  was  again  attempted  to  be  exhibited,  but 
passed  through  only  a  few  streets  when  it  shared  the  fate  of 
its  predecessor."  The  procession  to  the  church  was  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  long,  consisting  of  the  undergraduates  and 
about  three  hundred  alumni.  "We  noticed  a  few  of  the  Col- 
legians smoking  cigars,  both  going  and  returning  from  the 
church,"  which  was  "jammed,  not  crowded,"  Five  hun- 
dred attended  the  Commencement  dinner,  where  the  tables 
were  "adorned  by  bouquets  of  exquisite  flowers,  and  huge 
water-melons  erected  in  various  parts." 

But  on  the  purely  social  side  Commencement  day  came 
to  be  eclipsed  by  Class  Day.  The  Faculty  records  of  April 
22,  1856,  contain  this  entry:  "A  request  was  submitted 
through  the  President,  from  the  graduating  class,  for  per- 
mission to  celebrate  a  Class  Day  on  some  day  towards  the 
close  of  the  present  term.  Voted,  that  the  request  be  granted, 

C   340   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

and  that  June  12th  be  fixed  for  tlie  day;  also  tliat  the  jxt- 
formances  be  previously  submitted  to  the  Professor  of  Rhet- 
oric, and  that  that  officer  be  and  is,  hereby  authorized  to 
direct  the  Class-Committee  in  regard  to  the  arrangements 
for  the  public  proceedings  of  the  day."  llw  Providnwc 
Journal o^  June  13  had  the  following  notice  of  the  exercises  : 

Class  Day  at  Brown  University. — This  celebration  passed  off  yes- 
terday in  the  happiest  manner  in  the  Uni\ersity  Chapel,  and  was  in  all 
respects  exceedingh*  creditable  and  interesting.  .  .  .  The  purport  of  the 
celebration  was  briefl}-  stated  b}-  Mr.  Cieorge  L.  Stedman,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  da^',  who  introduced  to  the  audience  Mr.  Richard  Olne}-, 
the  Class  Orator.  This  j'oung  gentleman  delivered  an  admii-able  ad- 
dress on  the  importance  of  caiT\ing  literan'  culture  into  professional 
life — a  theme  well  adapted  to  the  occasion,  and  which  he  discussed 
in  a  manly  and  scholarly  spirit.  .  .  .  The  poem  was  by  Mr.  Francis 
W.  White.  .  .  .  After  a  graceflil  introduction  addressed  to  the  class, 
the  poet  drew  an  admirable  and  graphic  picture  of  the  College  as  it 
was  in  the  olden  times.  .  .  .  The  j^oung  gentlemen  of  the  class  dined 
together  at  the  close  of  the  daA%  and  in  the  e\"ening  were  entertained 
by  President  Sears. 

From  this  simple  beginning  Class  Day  developed  in  a  feu- 
years  into  essentially  its  present  form.  A  Class  Day  pro- 
gram, a  plain  affair  of  four  pages,  was  first  printed  by  the 
class  of  1858.  It  shows  that  the  day  was  Thursday,  June 
10  ;  the  morning  exercises  were  at  10.30  a.m. ,  in  Manning 
Hall,  and  consisted  of  music,  prayer  bv  Dr.  Sears,  an  ad- 
dress by  the  class  president,  an  oration,  and  a  poem.  Noth- 
ing was  announced  for  the  afternoon.  In  the  evening,  at 
nine  o'clock,  came  the  class  supper.  A  note  of  instructions 
ends  the  program:  "The  class  Mill  form  at  10.15  A.M. 
in  front  of  Rhode  Island  Hall,  and  go  in  procession  to 
the  Chapel.  At  8.45  P.M.  they  will  meet  the  American 
Brass  Band  at  the  Chapel  Steps,  from  m  hence  they  will  be 
escorted  to  the  Supper."  Of  the  class  poem,  by  John  Hay, 

C    341    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

The  Providence  Jowmal  said  :  "  It  was  marked  by  a  fertil- 
ity of  conception,  a  depth  of  sensibility,  and  a  power  of 
poetic  expression,  which  we  have  rarely  heard  equalled, 
and  never  surpassed,  at  any  of  our  literary  anniversaries." 
In  1859  it  was  announced  that  the  other  students  would 
escort  the  seniors  through  the  streets  to  the  class  supper. 
For  the  next  few  years  no  material  changes  were  made,  but 
in  1863  came  an  innovation  :  in  the  afternoon  of  Class  Day 
an  elm  tree, ' '  enfolded  in  the  stars  and  stripes, ' '  was  planted 
behind  the  Chemical  Laboratory ;  two  seniors  and  Presi- 
dent Sears  made  addresses ;  the  class  ode  was  then  sung, 
after  which  the  seniors  dispersed,  while  the  other  classes 
sang  college  songs.  The  Brown  Paper  of  1865  says  that 
on  Class  Day  of  that  year  there  was  music  in  the  evening 
before  the  class  went  to  their  supper  at  the  City  Hotel ;  that 
the  supper  lasted  from  nine  o'clock  until  early  morning, 
and  some  "fell  asleep."  Late  hours  at  the  supper  appar- 
ently became  the  custom  thenceforth,  for  The  Brown  Paper 
of  1868  refers  to  games  of  baseball  played  by  the  classes  of 
1867  and  1868  after  their  suppers.  In  1866  the  musical 
and  social  parts  of  the  celebration  were  much  enlarged.  In 
the  afternoon,  before  the  planting  of  the  class  tree,  there  was 
a  "promenade  concert"  in  Rhode  Island  Hall,  and  in  the 
evening  there  was  a  promenade  on  the  campus.  "  Class- 
day  '  spreads, ' ' '  says  The  Brown  Paper  of  1 866, "  were  in- 
troduced this  year  at  Brown."  That  the  social  exhilara- 
tion of  the  day  reached  a  high  point  that  year  is  apparent 
from  this  paragraph  :  "  When  the  class-day  of  Sixty-seven 
shall  summon  theexpectant  fair,  and  shall  throng  the  Chapel 
Hall  with  blushing  visitants,  may  he,  who  has  '  the  honor 
to  be  the  President  of  the  Senior  class  of  Brown  University, ' 
rise  undismayed  above  that  waving  sea  of  bonnets.  .  .  . 
May  loud  and  cheerful  strains  of  music  again  echo  in  Rhode 

C   342   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Island  Hall ;  may  bright  stars,  twinkling  in  an  unclouded 
sky,  and  gentle  zephyrs,  sporting  in  the  branches  of  the 
campus'  lofty  elms,  behold  a  joyous  Evening  Promenade." 
The  prayer  was  granted,  the  concert  and  promenade  be- 
coming permanent  features  of  the  day. 

A  few  later  steps  in  the  development  of  Class  Day  may 
be  anticipated  here.  "The  address  to  the  undergraduates" 
is  first  mentioned  in  The  Bnnvn  Paper  of  1866.  A  more 
significant  innovation  was  dancing,  in  1868,  at  the  prome- 
nade concert  in  Rhode  Island  Hall.  "And  though  perhaps 
unexpected  and  sudden  to  some  of  the  grave  Professors," 
says  The  Bwwn  Paper^  "this  new  feature  gave  a  life  and 
zest  to  the  concert  which  it  had  never  possessed  in  former 
years.  All  credit  to  '68  for  this  pleasant  innovation  on  the 
old-fogy  customs  of  past  times."  The Brunoniari' s  account 
of  Class  Day  in  1869  includes  more  new  features:  the 
music  at  the  morning  exercises  was  furnished  by  the  college 
glee  club ;  the  President  invited  the  seniors  to  lunch  at  his 
house ;  at  the  evening  promenade  a  few  Chinese  lanterns 
were  strung  between  the  trees  and  on  the  band-stand ;  be- 
tween the  band  pieces  there  were  college  songs  and  music 
by  the  glee  club.  The  Brunonian  also  mentions  that  the  cus- 
tom which  had  obtained  for  "many  years, "of  marching 
from  the  south  to  the  north  end  of  the  campus  and  cheering 
the  buildings  before  going  down  the  hill  to  the  class  supper, 
was  omitted,  but  adds  that  the  seniors  cheered  the  buildings 
the  next  morning  on  their  return.  The Brunoman  of  April, 
1870,  refers  to  another  custom  of  "long  standing" — that 
of  students  "gathering  in  front  of  Manning  Hall  and  pass- 
ing rude  criticisms  on  the  visitors,  during  their  arrixal  and 
after  the  close  of  the  exercises," — and  asks  "whether  it 
would  not  be  better  honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the  ob- 
servance." One  new  feature  of  this  year  recalled  the  tallow- 

C   343   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

candle  illuminations  of  old  days,  for  "Even-  room  in  Hope 
College  and  University  Hall  ^\as  brilliantly  illuminated," 
says  The  Briinoman  of  July,  which  also  notes  that  four 
rows  of  Chinese  lanterns  extended  the  whole  length  of  the 
campus.  From  this  point  on  the  development  of  Class  Day 
was  chiefly  a  matter  of  details,  except  for  the  great  empha- 
sis laid  in  recent  years  on  social  receptions  and  dances  by 
the  graduating  class  and  the  fraternities. 

Organized  athletics  date  from  the  administration  of  Pres- 
ident Sears,  At  the  beginning  of  his  term  the  chief  athletic 
event  ^^•as  the  annual  football  game  between  the  freshmen 
and  sophomores  in  September,  played  on  what  is  now  the 
middle  campus,  then  a  grassy  field,  and  watched,  says  The 
Brown  Papei\  by  "  hosts  of  graduates,  upper-class  men  and 
scheda ' '  and  by  ' '  many  fair  ladies  "who  graced  the  windows 
of  University  Hall  and  Hope  College."  The  struggle  was 
evidently  as  much  a  fight  as  a  game,  and  President  Sears 
stopped  it  in  1862.  The  ban  was  removed  in  1866,  and  the 
game,  in  a  more  healthful  form,  was  played  constantly 
that  autumn,  by  members  of  all  the  classes.  "The  inflated 
ball, ' '  says  The  Brown  Paper  of  1866,  "  now  raised  high  in 
air,  now  the  centre  of  a  swaying  mass  of  excited  players, 
and  now  driven  over  the  goal  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  look- 
ers-on, seems  to  possess  an  irresistible  though  inexplicable 
attraction  for  all. "  This  proved  a  passing  enthusiasm,  how- 
ever ;  and  except  for  the  annual  game  between  the  two  lower 
classes,  which  ^vas  soon  resumed,  football  received  little 
attention  at  Brown  for  many  years  to  come. 

It  was  baseball  that  was  first  developed  to  some  degree  of 
scientific  skill.  In  1864  a  baseball  club,  composed  chiefly 
of  members  of  the  class  of  1865,  with  Edward  Judson  as 
"president,"  won  the  championship  of  Providence  by  de- 
feating the  best  town  club,  the  Dexters,  and  as  a  result  the 

C    344   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

club  was  honored  by  a  challenge  from  Harvard.  The  follow- 
ing account  of  the  game,  written  bv  the  librarian  of  the  uni- 
versity for  one  of  the  Providence  new  spapers,  throw  s  light 
on  the  state  of  the  sport  and  on  intercollegiate  relations  at 
that  time : 

Agreeabh'  to  previous  announcements,  the  great  match  between  the 
Base  Ball  Clubs  of  Har\ard  and  Brown  came  off  on  Saturda\-  after- 
noon at  the  Dexter  Training  (i round.  The  occasion  was  made  a  holi- 
day by  many  of  our  citizens,  who  were  present  in  large  numbers  to 
witness  the  contest.  The  delegation  of  Harvard  students,  thirt\-four 
in  number,  an•i^•ed  here  in  the  middle  train,  and  were  recei\ed  at  the 
depot  bv  membere  of  the  Brown  Club,  and  escorted  to  Humphrevs\ 
where  a  generous  collation  was  pro\ided.  From  thence  the\'  were  con- 
ducted to  the  College,  where  an  hour  was  ver^'  agreeabh'  s|xtnt  in 
social  intercourse,  and  in  ^•isiting  the  LibraiT,  Laborator\',  and  other 
College  buildings.  At  half  past  two  the  two  Clubs  were  taken  in  hacks 
to  the  Dexter  Training  Ciround,  where,  soon  after  their  arTi\al,  the 
game  commenced.  The  contest  lasted  upwards  of  foiu-  hours,  and  as 
was  anticipated,  proved  highly  exciting.  For  a  long  time  the  tallies  on 
each  side  increased  with  even  pace,  and  up  to  6  o'clock  it  seemed  en- 
tirely doubtftil  which  side  would  win.  The  Brown  bo\'s  did  "splendid 
execution,"  but  the  superior  muscle  and  the  longer  and  more  thorough 
training  of  the  Harvard  bo}'s  finally  prevailed.  They  won  the  game 
by  a  majority  of  nine,  the  tallies  counting  twenty-six  and  seventeen. 
.  .  .  The  occasion  was  enlivened  by  the  delightful  niusic  of  the  Ameri- 
can Brass  Band,  and  smiles  and  nods  fi-om  countless  fair  ones  cheered 
and  encouraged  the  plaA'ers.  The  ^'ery  best  feeling  pervaded  the  Clubs, 
the  vanquished  joining  with  the  victors  in  cheers  at  the  final  result. 
Such  fi-iendly  peaceful  contests  do  much  towards  uniting  kindred  in- 
stitutions in  a  common  bond  of  s}'m})athy  and  lo^•e.  Har\ard  and 
Brown  have  always  sustained  the  happiest  relations  towards  each  other 
in  the  past  years  of  their  history,  notwithstanding  the  somewhat  dif- 
ferent theological  tendencies  of  the  two  institutions.  " So  mote  it  e\er 
be"  in  the  ftiture. 

The  interest  in  baseball  continued  in  the  ensuing  3-ears.  The 
'varsity  nines  had  small  success;  but  the  sport  aroused  gen- 

[   345   3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

eral  enthusiasm,  m  hich  led  to  much  miscellaneous  playing 
and  to  the  formation  of  class  teams.  "At  almost  any  time 
during  the  Spring  and  Autumn  months,"  said  The  Brown 
Paper  o^  1866,  "  the  passer-by  may  see  upon  the  Campus, 
some  ^^•ell-contested  game  in  progress  between  two  picked 
nines." 

Boating  also  began  to  develop.  Harvard  and  Yale  had 
rowed  their  first  race  in  1852,  their  second  in  1855.  These 
contests  excited  great  interest  in  other  colleges,  and  in  1857 
the  students  at  Brow^n  began  preparations  to  enter  a  boat  at 
the  next  intercollegiate  race.  The  University  Boat  Club  was 
organized  in  June.  "On  Friday,  September  11th,"  says 
The  Brown  Paper ^  ' '  a  new  boat  arrived  from  Boston  at  the 
India  Point  Depot.  She  was  there  received  by  the  club,  borne 
to  the  water's  edge  and  launched  on  the  waves  of  Narra- 
gansett  Bay  with  enthusiastic  demonstrations  from  the  as- 
sembled crowd. ' '  The  boat,  named  ' '  Atalanta, ' '  was  a  six- 
oared,  lap-streak  craft,  forty-four  and  a  half  feet  long.  The 
new  sport  excited  great  enthusiasm.  The  Brown  Paper  oi  the 
next  year  contained  the  following  :  ' '  The  boating  interest 
continues  unabated.  The  zeal  manifested  by  the  Freshmen 
was  as  cheering  as  it  was  unexpected,  and  the  formation 
of  a  new  Club,  at  the  opening  of  the  season,  may  be  con- 
sidered, at  least,  a  probability.  We  need  only  allude  to  the 
stunning  appearance  presented  by  the  members  of  the 
Club,  when,  by  presenting  themselves  in  full  uniform  on 
the  ground,  they  gave  eclat  to  the  Annual  Foot  Ball  Game. ' ' 
The  "eclat"  is  easily  appreciated  when  one  reads  a  de- 
scription of  the  club  uniform  :  "Blue  shirts,  trimmed  with 
white;  black  glazed  hats,  inscribed  'Atalanta';  black  belts, 
inscribed  'U.  B.  C  ;  white  pants." 

In  1859  Brown  entered  the  intercollegiate  race  with 
Harvard  and  Yale  on  Lake  Quinsigamond,  and  w^as  badly 

C   346   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

beaten,  partly  because  the  "  Atalanta  "  ^^•eighed  a  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  more  than  the  shells  of  her  rivals.  Enthu- 
siasm was  fired  by  the  race  in  spite  of  defeat.  The  Brown 
Paper  that  autumn  said  : 

Never  was  such  a  state  of  things  known  before  in  the  old  UniveiVitv ; 
ever}'body  is  "training."  .  .  .  The  Quickstep  was  purchased  h\-  mem- 
bers of  the  Freshmen  Class,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  jires- 
ent  term.  It  was  realh'  amusing  to  see  how  delighted  the  little  fellow  s 
were  when  the  "lap-streak"  arrived;  never  was  a  bo\-  more  tickled 
with  his  first  pair  of  new  boots,  than  were  the  Freshmen  with  theii- 
four-oared  boat.  .  .  .  The  funds  for  a  "college  shell  boat"  are  being 
rapidly  subscribed.  .  .  .  The  "picked  crew"  is  nearlv  formed,  and 
possesses  many  advantages  o\er  the  crew  of  last  }'ear.  Thev  ha\e 
been  practicing  upon  the  ri\'er  for  the  last  few  weeks,  and  ha\'e  made 
exceedingh'  good  time. 

The  freshman  club  adopted  a  uniform  consisting  of  "red 
shirt,  trimmed  with  white ;  tarpaulin  hat ;  black  belt,  in- 
scribed 'B.  C.  '63  ' ;  black  pants."  In  this  rather  piratical 
costume,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  'varsity  club  and  the  dress 
of  the  crew  in  the  race  of  the  preceding  summer — "gray 
check  pants ;  salmon  silk  shirts  ;  blue  skull  caps  "  —  the  ab- 
sence of  brown  is  noticeable.  No  college  color  had  yet  been 
adopted,  nor  was  the  question  even  raised  until  1866,  when 
The  Bwwn  Paper  said  that  there  was  much  debate  about 
it:  "The  general  opinion  seems  to  be,  that  brown  should 
be  adopted." 

The  high  hopes  with  which  the  college  year  opened  ^^•ere 
doomed  to  disappointment.  The  Brown  crew  entered  several 
races  in  the  summer  of  1860,  at  Providence,  Boston,  and 
Lake  Quinsigamond,  but  was  defeated  in  all,  partly  through 
a  series  of  mishaps.  The  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  soon 
after  turned  the  students'  thoughts  in  another  direction,  and 
boating  languished  for  several  years,  although  there  Mere 
still  occasional  races  on  the  Seekonk.  In  1867  TJie  Brown 

C   347  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Pfl'/?6'r contained  this  dismal  picture:  "The  swift 'Brunonia' 
.  .  .  lies  a  shattered  hulk  within  the  forsaken  boat  house.  The 
relentless  tempest  sweeps  through  the  crevices  of  the  decay- 
ing roof,  and  the  pitiless  rain  descends  upon  the  well-patched 
cedar  of  the  ancient  shell.  The  '  Atalanta,'  too,  .  .  .  has  de- 
parted to  other  waters.  ...  It  is  not  fitting  that  the  manliest 
of  all  our  sports  should  be  neglected,  and  that  the  best  row- 
ing-stretch in  New  England  should  be  without  a  boat." 

The  tendency  to  organization  sho^\ed  itself  in  the  for- 
mation of  many  clubs  and  associations.  The  Brown  Paper 
between  1857  and  1867  contains  notices  of  several  musical 
clubs,  three  chess  clubs,  and  two  dramatic  organizations  — 
the  Thalian  Dramatic  Association,  in  1866,  and  the  more 
permanent  Hammer  and  Tongs,  formed  in  1867.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  Religious  Society,  which  died  in  1863,  and  the 
Society  of  Missionary  Inquiry,  both  of  long  standing,  the 
Bishop  Seabury  Association  was  formed  in  1865,  by  the 
Episcopalian  students,  and  prospered  for  many  years. 

The  Greek-letter  fraternities,  increased  to  six  by  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  chapter  of  Chi  Psi  in  1860,  grew  more  and 
more  influential  under  President  Sears's  genial  rule,  and  were 
the  chief  centers  of  social  and  intellectual  life.  Their  secrecy 
aroused  some  opposition,  and  this  led  in  1860  to  the  forma- 
tion of  an  open  societ}^,  the  Gamma  Nu,  which  in  1868  be- 
came a  chapter  of  the  Delta  Upsilon  fraternity.  The  Brown 
Paper,  a  four-page  annual,  was  published  by  the  secret  socie- 
ties from  1857  to  1868,  giving  place  in  1869  to  the  Liber 
Bninensis.  The  former  contained  the  names  of  all  the  college 
societies  and  other  organizations,  with  their  ofiicers  and 
members,  besides  news  items  and  editorials.  The  issues  of 
1860  and  1861  were  called  The  Bmnonian.  In  1866  two 
different  papers  were  published,  because  of  a  split  in  the 
senior  class  election.  The  Caduceus,  one  number  of  -v^hich 

[   348   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

was  published  in  December,  1865,  by  the  Gamma  Nii  soci- 
ety and  non-societ\-  students,  and  another  in  December, 
1868,  by  the  Brown  cliapter  of  Deha  Upsilon,  was  similar 
to  The  Brown  Paper,  but  had  less  new  s  and  more  literary 
material.  It  was  the  latter,  however,  which  published  the  only 
verses  that  have  surviN'ed.  For  the  1860  number  James  A. 
DeWolf,  of  the  class  of  1861,  the  editor  representing  the 
Psi  Upsilon  fraternity,  wrote  "Alma  Mater,"  which  he 
called  "Old  Brown."  It  was  intended  for  a  college  song; 
and  Mr.  DeWolf  has  said  that  he  first  chose  the  tune, 
' '  Araby's  Daughter, ' '  chiefly  because  of  its  popularity,  and 
then  wrote  his  w  ords  to  fit  the  music.  It  attracted  no  atten- 
tion for  some  years. 

As  the  secret  societies  grew,  the  old  debating  sociedes 
declined.  A  falling  off  in  interest  had  been  noted  as  early 
as  1851,  and  was  urged  in  that  year  as  a  reason  for  allow- 
ing meetings  at  night.  In  spite  of  the  granting  of  this  request 
in  1855,  the  societies  continued  to  decline.  After  1859  the 
United  Brothers  held  few  meedngs  except  the  annual  initia- 
tions, and  the  same  was  true  of  the  Philermenian  Society 
after  1862.  The  inidations  degenerated  into  a  tussle  for  the 
possession  of  the  bodies  of  freshmen,  in  the  narrow  entry 
between  the  doors  of  the  rival  organizations,  and  in  1867 
even  these  physical  debates  ceased.  The  joint  literary  anni- 
versaries of  the  sociedes,  on  the  day  before  Commencement, 
ended  in  1863  with  an  oration  by  George  William  Curds 
and  a  poem  by  William  Winter.  The  transfer  of  undergrad- 
uate interest  from  oratory  to  other  forms  of  intellectual  ac- 
tivity appeared  also  in  the  giving  up  of  the  senior  exhibi- 
tion in  1857,  apparently  by  the  concerted  action  of  those 
appointed  to  speak.  The  junior  exhibition  lived  some  twenty- 
five  years  longer. 

Student  pranks  continued  to  enliven  if  not  to  dignify  aca- 
C    349   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

demic  routine.  Junior  Burials,  conducted  by  men  some  of 
whom  afterA\ards  became  pillars  of  church  and  state,  yearly 
illuminated  the  streets  with  torches  and  transparencies,  and 
helped  to  block  the  channel  in  Narragansett  Bay  by  sinking 
textbooks  in  rhetoric  and  logic.  The  hazing  of  freshmen 
sometimes  went  to  reckless  extremes,  sophomores  visiting 
the  same  students  several  times,  smashing  doors  and  furni- 
ture, and  in  a  few  instances  inflicting  personal  injury.  In  the 
autumn  of  1858  nearly  the  whole  sophomore  class  were 
suspended  for  a  few  days,  although  they  pleaded  truly  in 
defense  that  their  concerted  action  was  intended  to  prevent 
the  more  objectionable  features  of  individual  hazing  in  re- 
centyears.  In  March,  1857,  occurred  the  famousmock  duel, 
which  was  so  cunningly  counterfeited  that  it  nearly  put  the 
principals  into  prison  and  resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  one 
of  them,  a  Southerner,  and  the  suspension  of  three  other  stu- 
dents. A  less  offensive  though  more  noisy  amusement,  the 
rolling  of  a  cannon-ball  at  night  along  the  corridors  of  Uni- 
versity Hall,  A\'hich  then  ran  the  whole  length  of  the  build- 
ing, Avas  stopped  in  the  summer  vacation  of  1860  by  the 
building  of  partitions  in  the  three  upper  stories.  A  Water 
Procession,  the  fame  of  which  has  been  eclipsed  by  a  more 
elaborate  one  in  1868,  was  occasioned  in  1865  by  the  fail- 
ure of  the  college  water-supply.  The  rope  in  the  well-house 
behind  Hope  College  was  cut  one  day,  and  the  bucket 
removed;  the  registrar,  wearied  by  the  frequent  repetition 
of  this  joke,  did  not  repair  the  loss;  whereupon  "a  proces- 
sion of  students,  some  sixty  in  number,"  says  The  Brown 
Paper,  "impelled  by  a  burning  thirst, each  with  his  bucket 
in  hand,  \A^ended  their  way,  to  the  slow  and  solemn  time  of 
a  tin-pail  drum,  to  the  town  pump,  and  returned  rejoicing 
with  the  life-giving  beverage." 

In  the  spring  of  1861  the  roar  of  the  guns  at  Fort  Sumter 
[   .350   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

broke  in  upon  this  academic  life  of  mingled  work  and  play. 
The  effect  upon  the  college,  as  upon  the  whole  country,  was 
tremendous.  "  Tlie  events  which  have  produced  such  an 
extraordinary  effect  upon  the  public  mind  generally,"  wrote 
President  Sears  in  his  report  to  the  Executive  Board  on 
May  4,  "have  not  failed  to  act  powerfully  upon  the  minds 
of  the  students.  Some  have  enlisted  &.  taken  their  places  in 
the  camp.  Some  w^ere  so  excited  at  the  first  outbreak  of  our 
present  national  troubles  that,  for  a  few  days,  they  nearly 
forgot  that  there  was  a  college,  &  considered  themsehes 
rather  as  recruits  than  as  students,  till  at  length  the  Pro- 
fessors succeeded  in  re\'iving  in  them  a  consciousness  that 
they  still  belonged  to  college."  On  April  15  came  President 
Lincoln's  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers.  The 
whole  college  was  at  once  on  fire  with  patriotism.  Fifteen 
students  responded  immediately  by  enlisting  in  the  First 
Rhode  Island  Regiment  then  forming  under  Burnside  at  the 
summons  of  the  energetic  young  war-governor,  William 
Sprague ;  and  twenty-two  more  entered  the  army  during  the 
year.  The  seniors  held  a  meeting  on  the  day  of  the  call  for 
troops,  and  asked  permission  of  Dr.  Sears  to  raise  a  ffag  on 
University  Hall.  There  was  but  one  dissenting  voice,  that 
of  a  Southern  student,  who  courageously  spoke  for  the  Con- 
federacy and  its  flag ;  he  soon  entered  the  Southern  army, 
and  died  in  its  service  the  next  3'ear.  The  freshman  class 
also  held  a  meeting,  and  passed  valiant  resolutions  uphold- 
ing the  national  government.  On  April  17  the  seniors  raised 
their  flag  over  University  Hall  in  the  presence  of  students, 
Faculty,  and  citizens,  and  music  and  speeches  followed. 
Three  days  later  the  students  gathered  in  Exchange  Place, 
with  a  vast  crowd  of  townspeople,  to  say  good-by  to  the 
first  detachment  of  Rhode  Island  infantry,  which  included 
several  collegians.  Bishop  Clark  addressed  the  troops  and 

C  351  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN    UNIVERSITY 

prayed,  after  \\'hich  they  embarked  at  Fox  Point  and  sailed 
down  the  bay.  This  scene  was  repeated  on  the  following 
Wednesday,  when  Dr.  Wayland  addressed  the  soldiers  and 
marched  \vith  them  to  the  wharf. 

In  May  the  undergraduates  formed  a  military  company, 
known  as  the  University  Cadets,  numbering  seventy-eight 
men.  Eight  of  the  fourteen  officers,  says  Dr.  Burrage  in  his 
Browji  University  in  the  Civil  JFar^  "served  A\ith  distinc- 
tion in  the  Union  armies. ' '  The  National  Cadets  allowed  the 
company  the  use  of  their  armory  and  muskets,  the  cam- 
pus was  an  admirable  training-ground,  and  daily  drills 
soon  made  the  young  soldiers  proficient.  On  Class  Day  they 
paraded  through  the  principal  streets  of  the  city,  and  in 
the  evening  escorted  the  seniors  to  their  class  supper.  In  the 
summer  of  1863  the  University  Cadets  became  a  company 
of  the  Rhode  Island  mihtia,  and  as  such  spent  a  delight- 
ful fortnight  at  the  entrance  of  Narragansett  Bay,  ostensi- 
bly to  fortify  the  West  Passage  against  the  expected  attack 
of  the  rebel  privateer,  Taconey,  but  really  to  enjoy  a  fur- 
lough from  term  examinations.  Not  long  after,  when  the 
state  militia  was  disbanded,  the  college  company  ceased  to 
exist. 

Even  after  the  first  outbursts  of  enthusiasm  had  subsided, 
the  patriotism  of  the  college  and  its  alumni  continued  to  burn 
with  a  steady  glow.  Undergraduates  and  graduates  enlisted 
from  time  to  time,  268  in  all;  and  of  these  132  came  from 
the  five  classes  graduating  during  the  war,  whose  aggre- 
gate membership  within  that  period  was  only  278.  In  one 
of  the  darkest  hours,  after  the  defeat  of  General  Banks  in 
the  spring  of  1862,  came  a  call  for  more  troops.  Two  days 
later  the  Tenth  Rhode  Island  Volunteers  left  Providence  for 
the  field,  and  Company  B  consisted  almost  wholly  of  under- 
graduates from  the  college.  The  leader  of  the  company, 

[   352   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Governor  Elisha  D3er,  has  said  :  "The  students  of  Brown 
University  could  brook  no  restraint,  and,  almost  en  masse ^ 
came  to  our  recruiting  rendezAous  for  enrollment.  .  .  . 
They  proved  themselves  worthy  of  their  Alma  Mater,  and 
the  sacred  cause  for  which  they  enlisted.  Always  prompt, 
obedient,  and  efficient,  they  won  for  themselves  an  honor- 
able record.  For  no  delinquency,  or  misdemeanor,  did  any 
name  of  theirs  ever  find  a  place  on  the  morning  report.  On 
the  muster  out  of  the  regiment,  September  1 ,  1862,  many  of 
these  young  men  immediately  reentered  the  service,  and, 
as  commissioned  officers,  extended  a  record  of  which  the 
University  may  well  be  proud." 

Throughout  the  Avar  the  life  of  the  college  was  affected  h\ 
it  at  almost  every  point.  At  the  time  of  the  Class  Day  cele- 
bration in  1861 ,  the  class  president  was  already  in  the  armv; 
and  the  secretary,  the  orator,  and  the  poet  all  soon  entered 
and  served  for  several  years.  During  the  summer  the  war 
claimed  its  first  victim  among  the  graduates  of  the  col- 
lege. Major  Sullivan  Ballon,  of  the  class  of  1852,  who  was 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  and  died  five  days  later. 
On  Commencement  morning  an  editorial  in  The  Providence 
Journal  well  expressed  the  general  feeling : 

But  at  this  literary  festival  we  would  not,  if  we  could,  shut  out  fi-om 
our  minds  thoughts  of  the  great  struggle  in  which  the  nation  is  en- 
gaged. Nor  could  we,  if  we  would.  For  hv  the  Commencement  pro- 
gramme itself  we  are  reminded  that  four  of  the  graduating  class  de- 
serve their  portion  of  the  laurels  which  the  Rhode  Island  regiments 
won  on  the  plains  of  Manassas,  and  that  one  of  them  wounded  now 
lies  a  prisoner  at  Richmond.  Another  of  them  is  with  his  regiment 
to-day  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  perhaps  facing  death  in  the  din 
of  the  teiTible  contest  while  we  sit  so  quietlv  listening  to  his  com- 
rades. Two  of  the  undergraduates  are  also  prisoners  at  Richmond, 
and  others  are  alread}'  enrolled  in  the  aiTn\'  of  the  Union.  And  all 
along  the  line  fi-om  the  ocean  to  the  Rockv  Mountains  the  graduates  of 

[   353   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Brown  are  found  standing  up  bravely  in  defence  of  those  institutions 
without  which  science  and  letters  and  arts  and  industr}^  and  wealth  are 
all  of  no  avail. 

The  orations  of  the  graduating  class  had  little  direct  refer- 
ence to  the  war,  but  at  the  Commencement  dinner  it  was 
the  chief  theme.  President  Sears  spoke  warmly  of  the  prompt 
response  of  the  state  to  the  call  of  the  national  government, 
and  introduced  with  words  of  high  praise  ' '  the  brave  young 
Governor  of  Rhode  Island."  After  Governor  Sprague  had 
responded  in  a  strain  of  optimistic  courage,  Dr.  Wayland 
addressed  the  gathering  with  his  old-time  impressiveness. 
On  Class  Day  the  next  year  the  orator,  home  on  a  fur- 
lough, took  for  his  subject, ' '  The  Alliance  of  Scholarship  and 
Patriotism,"  and  the  class  poem  bore  in  part  upon  the  war. 
At  Commencement  The  Providence  Journal  remarked:  "A 
large  number  of  the  students  who  gather  at  the  anniversary 
to-day  .  .  .  have  just  returned  from  an  arduous  campaign 
near  Washington,  and  wear  on  their  cheeks  the  dark  col-' 
oring  of  the  fervid  Virginia  sun,  and  in  their  callous  hands 
the  marks  of  severest  toil. ' '  The  valedictorian,  who  had  just 
enlisted  for  "three  years  or  the  war,"  spoke  in  the  uniform 
of  a  captain  of  infantry  ;  his  theme  was  ' '  The  Scholar's  Re- 
lations to  Humanity."  He  left  the  Commencement  stage 
for  the  field,  and  three  months  later  was  severely  wounded 
at  Fredericksburg.  This  Commencement  had  hardly  passed 
before  the  cruelty  of  war  Avas  powerfully  brought  home  to 
the  college  and  the  state  by  the  death  of  Robert  H.  Ives,  Jr. , 
of  the  class  of  1857,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  best  Provi- 
dence famihes,  a  young  man  of  culture  and  fine  character, 
who  forsook  all  the  allurements  of  private  life  to  serve  his 
country.  Lieutenant  Ives  left  Providence  on  September  1, 
as  aide  to  General  Rodman,  an  officer  of  the  Ninth  Corps 
under  Major-General  Burnside ;  seventeen  days  later,  at 

[   354   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  battle  of  Antietam,  he  was  horribly  wounded  in  the  thigh 
bv  a  cannon-ball,  and  although  tended  carefully  by  his  faith- 
ful English  servant  and  by  relati\es  who  reached  his  side 
in  a  few  days,  he  died  on  September  27,  in  his  tw  enty-sixth 
year.  C.  L.  Kneass,  of  the  class  of  1858,  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Murfreesboro  in  December  of  the  same  year. 

The  oration  before  the  undergraduate  literary  societies 
during  Commencement  week  of  1863,  by  George  Wil- 
liam Curtis,  was  entitled  "TheWay  of  Peace,"  and  urged 
pushing  the  w  ar  to  the  end  as  the  only  means  of  securing 
permanent  peace.  At  the  Commencement  dinner  General 
J.  M.  Tha}  er,  of  the  class  of  1841,  fresh  from  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg,  described  the  character  of  his  chief,  Ulysses  S. 
Grant,  then  comparatively  unknown  in  the  East. 

Even  the  centennial  anniversary  in  1864  took  color  from 
the  civil  strife  then  nearing  its  close.  At  the  dinner  Pro- 
fessor Goldwin  Smith  brought  a  message  of  sympathy  with 
the  North  from  the  common  people  of  England ;  Governor 
Salmon  P.  Chase,  of  Ohio,  arraigned  the  British  government 
for  aiding  the  Confederacy ;  and  a  poem,  "  Centennial,"  by 
Major  John  Hay,  was  read,  ending  with  the  stanza, 

Thus  bright  forever  may  she  keep 

Her  fires  of  tolerant  Freedom  burning, 

Till  War's  red  eyes  are  channed  to  sleep 
And  bells  ring  home  the  bo}-s  returning. 

The  end  of  the  war  excited  the  undergraduates  hardly  less 
than  its  outbreak.  "When  the  joyful  tidings  of  the  fall  of 
Richmond  were  received,"  says  The  Brown  Paper oS.  1865, 
punning  atrociously,  "the  Sophomoric  enthusiasm  .  .  . 
threw  down  all  deferices  of  the  college,  and,  imable  to  let 
well  enough  alone,  set  fire  to  the  ancient  curb."  When  the 
news  of  Lee's  surrender  came,  the  sophomores  celebrated 
the  event,  according  to  the  same  chronicle, "  by  a  mammoth 

C    ^55   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

bonfire,  to  which  they  generously  devoted  all  the  movable 
combustibles  that  could  be  borrowed  in  the  city. ' '  More  dig- 
nified festivities  followed  a  few  days  later,  described  thus 
in  The  Broxvn  Paper:  ' '  The  students  of  all  classes,  aided  by 
the  generosity  of  the  citizens,  arranged  a  celebration  more 
suited  to  the  greatness  of  the  occasion .  Colored  lanterns  shone 
in  all  the  ^^'indows  and  hung  in  festoons  from  the  elms; 
rockets  and  Roman  candles  shot  in  every  direction,  to  the 
great  danger  of  spectators.  From  the  chapel  portico,  under 
a  canopv  of  flags,  eloquent  orators,  surrounded  by  a  brilliant 
halo  from  a  calcium  light,  addressed  an  audience  such  as 
had  never  before  graced  our  campus,  ^^'hile  in  the  rear  of 
the  college,  the  efiigy  of  Jefferson  D.  blazed  in  the  curling 
flames  of  several  hundred  taired  barrels."  The  assassina- 
tion of  Lincoln,  only  two  days  later,  changed  all  this  rejoic- 
ing to  sorrow.  Dr.  Wayland's  speech  to  the  citizens  has 
already  been  described.  The  Faculty  and  students  held  a 
meeting  in  the  chapel  on  April  17,  passed  appropriate  reso- 
lutions, and  voted  to  drape  the  chapel  and  wear  badges  of 
mourning  for  thirty  days. 

'  At  the  Commencement  dinner,  that  autumn,  James  B. 
Angell,  then  editor  of  The  Providence  Journal^  gave  an  elo- 
quent address  of  welcome  to  the  soldier  sons  of  Brown.  Brief 
responses  were  made  by  soldier  alumni  —  General  J.  M. 
Thayer,  General  A.  B.  Underwood,  Colonel  Horatio  Rogers, 
and  Captain  H.  S.  Burrage.  On  the  day  before  the  Com- 
mencement of  1866  a  mural  tablet  in  the  chapel  was  dedi- 
cated to  the  memory  of  the  t^\■enty-one  Brown  men  who  had 
died  in  the  war.  The  plan  originated  among  the  undergrad- 
uates, and  the  expense  \A'as  borne  chiefly  by  them.  The  in- 
scription, by  Professor  Lincoln,  was  as  follows:  "inmemo- 

RIAM  FRATRUM  SUORUM  qUI  PRO  LIBERTATE  ET  PRO  REIPUBLICAE 
INTEGRITATE    IN    BELLO    CIVILI    CECIDERUNT    LITERARUM    STUDIOSI 

C   356  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

IN   HAC  UNIVERSITATE  COMMORANTES  HANC  TABULAM  POSUERUNT. 

MDCCCLXVi."  After  a  prayer  by  Professor  Dunn,  Professor 
Diman  made  a  short  address,  including  these  words: 

To  the  Faculty,  and  to  tlie  students,  alike,  it  seemed  eminently  fit 
that  such  a  memorial  should  be  erected  here ;  that  here,  as  we  gather 
to  our  daily  devotions,  we  might  be  reminded  of  those  who,  only  a 
short  time  since,  sat  with  us  on  these  l)enches,  and  joined  with  us  in 
our  accustomed  h^nnns  of  praise ;  and  that  here  those,  who  in  yeai-s  to 
come  shall  fill  our  places,  may  learn  that  study  is  not  an  end  in  itself; 
that  libei-al  culture  looks  to  larger  results  than  are  included  in  mere 
academic  success;  that  the  finest  discipline  becomes  contemptible  if  not 
coupled  with  the  manly  ^•il■tues.  Not  what  we  leani,  but  the  use  we 
make  of  our  learning  is  what  tells  the  story.  Surely  if  the  instructors 
in  this  institution  e\'er  grow  negligent  in  inculcating  these  high  lessons, 
the  ven'  stone  will  cr\'  out. 

The  names  of  the  dead  were  added  at  a  later  date.  A  me- 
morial to  all  the  Brown  men  who  served  in  the  w  ar  was  pid:)- 
lished  in  1868,  in  the  form  of  a  handsome  volume,  Bmwji 
University  in  the  Civil  War^  edited  and  in  part  written  by 
the  Rev.  H.  S.  Burrage. 

On  August  28,  1867,  the  university  sustained  a  sudden 
loss  in  the  death  of  Professor  Dunn.  He  was  born  in  New- 
port, Rhode  Island,  on  May  31, 1825,  the  son  of  an  emi- 
nent physician.  He  entered  Brown  University  in  1839,  and 
took  his  degree  four  years  later  with  the  valedictory  honor. 
During  the  years  1844-46  he  served  as  assistant  libra- 
rian and  instructor  in  French.  After  studying  in  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  he  became  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian 
church  in  Camden,  New  Jersey,  in  1848  ;  but  in  1851  he 
accepted  the  chair  of  rhetoric  and  English  literature  in 
Brown  University,  and  devoted  himself  to  its  duties  for  the 
rest  of  his  life,  refusing  a  call  to  a  similar  position  in  Prince- 
ton in  1860.  He  recei\ed  the  degree  of  D.D.  from  Brown 
University  in  1864. 

C   357   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Professor  Dunn's  personality  was  one  of  almost  femi- 
nine sensibility  and  refinement,  without  much  robustness  or 
breadth.  He  cared  Httle  for  great  public  questions,  and  even 
in  the  realm  of  pure  thought  his  range  was  limited.  "His 
mind  seemed  never  fascinated  with  the  subtleties  of  meta- 
physics," said  Professor  Diman;  "it  did  not  grasp  with  ease 
the  broad  generalizations  of  moral  and  political  philosophy ; 
it  found  slight  attraction  in  the  physical  sciences. ' '  His  work 
as  a  teacher  showed  both  the  limitations  and  the  fineness  of 
his  nature,  as  appears  in  the  same  colleague's  words  about 
it:  "His  nature  had  not  enough  enthusiasm.  His  quicken- 
ing power  was  not  in  proportion  to  his  other  gifts.  But  his 
rare  critical  discernment,  his  exquisite  taste,  his  apprecia- 
tive love  of  ^^■hatever  was  excellent  in  literary  works,  his 
enthusiasm  in  the  studies  relating  to  his  own  department, 
rendered  him  a  rare  and  eminent  example  of  a  thorough  aca- 
demic man. ' '  His  lectures  on  rhetoric  were  skillfully  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  the  college  student.  "Do  not  labor  after 
ornament,"  he  said.  "Let  figures  come  unsought.  Earnest 
feeling  seldom  fails  to  employ  them,  but  a  manifest  effort  to 
introduce  them  is  painful  and  disgusting.  Simplicity  and  pre- 
cision are  more  pleasing  and  effective  than  show. "  What  he 
taught  he  compelled  his  pupils  to  practice.  "No  one  could 
give  critical  attention  to  the  orations  of  Commencement 
day,"  says  Professor  Diman,  "without  seeing  how  success- 
ful he  had  been  in  correcting  the  passion  for  fine  wTiting, 
which  is  at  war  with  all  moral  qualities  of  style. ' '  His  teach- 
ing of  English  literature,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  at 
that  time,  was  confined  to  a  course  of  lectures  on  the  history 
of  its  earlier  periods,  but  he  read  much  to  the  class  from  the 
best  authors.  Of  Professor  Dunn's  scholarship  his  friend 
and  colleague,  James  B.  Angell,  said:  ' '  His  critical  study  of 
our  language  carried  him  back  to  the  Anglo-Saxon,  with  the 

C   358   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

structure  of  which  he  made  himself  famiHar.  The  French 
language  he  had  in  childhood  thoroughly  mastered,  and  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  French  literature  \\as  well  known 
to  him  before  he  entered  college.  I  have  often  questioned 
whether  the  vivacity,  the  brightness,  the  flashing  but  kindly 
wit  of  his  conversation  were  not  in  part  due  to  this  early 
intimacy  with  the  French  language.  ...  In  the  midst  of 
his  engrossing  labors  he  found  time  to  push  his  study  of 
Italian  far  enough  to  read,  with  appreciation  and  enjoyment, 
the  great  masters  of  that  tongue.  During  the  last  few  years 
of  his  life,  he  added  largely  to  his  critical  apparatus  from 
the  stores  of  German  scholarship,  and  was  a  diligent  stu- 
dent of  the  best  German  A\Titers  on  Comparative  Grammar, 
Philology,  and  Scriptural  Exegesis." 

At  the  Commencement  of  1867  Professor  Dunn's  pew 
was  draped  in  black,  and  the  salutatorian  spoke  of  his  char- 
acter and  work.  A  commemorative  discourse  by  Professor 
Diman  was  delivered  in  chapel  on  October  16;  and  a  memo- 
rial volume,  containing  this  address,  a  biographical  sketch, 
and  selections  from  Professor  Dunn's  writings,  was  pub- 
lished in  1869.  The  Dunn  Premium,  founded  in  the  same 
year  by  the  gift  of  $1000  from  his  pupils  and  friends,  the 
income  to  be  given  at  the  end  of  the  junior  year  to  the  stu- 
dent having  the  highest  rank  in  rhetorical  studies,  forms  a 
permanent  and  fitting  memorial  to  one  who  labored  so  long 
and  effectively  on  behalf  of  good  English. 

The  Commencement  of  1867  was  also  saddened  by  the 
approaching  departure  of  President  Sears,  who  had  re- 
signed, partly  because  of  his  health,  to  become  agent  of 
the  Peabody  Fund  for  education  in  the  South.  The  resigna- 
tion had  been  regretfully  accepted  by  the  Corporation,  with 
wordsof  praise  for  "his  piety,  learning  and  suavity  ;  .  .  .  his 
watchfulness  over  the  interests  of  the  University,  his  gen- 

C   359  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

eral  ability  and  his  great  success."  Dr.  Sears  left  for  the 
South,  thenceforth  his  home,  a  fortnight  after  Commence- 
ment. His  hold  on  the  affections  of  the  undergraduates  is 
shown  by  the  following  account  of  their  farewell  to  him, 
taken  from  The  Brown  Paper: 

On  the  moiTiing  of  the  19th  of  September,  the  intelligence  reached 
some  of  the  students  .  .  .  that  he  was  to  leave  the  city  in  the  afternoon. 
The  tidings  spread  rapidly  through  the  college,  and  everybody  said, 
"Let  us  all  be  at  the  wharf  to  see  him  and  to  say  our  good-bye." 
.  .  .  Soon  all  were  formed  in  procession  in  the  order  of  the  classes,  and 
passed  down  College  street,  by  the  President's  house.  Dr.  Sears  stand- 
ing on  the  steps,  and  greeting  them,  as  they  filed  by,  class  by  class,  with 
uncovered  heads.  It  had  been  the  wish  of  the  students  to  escort  the 
President  to  the  wharf,  but  this  was  waived  afterwards  at  his  sug- 
gestion. It  so  happened,  however,  that  the  carriage  in  which  he  went, 
overtook  the  procession,  and  immediately  place  for  it  was  made  in  the 
centre.  .  .  .  On  arriving  at  the  boat.  Dr.  Sears  stood  at  the  landing, 
surrounded  by  members  of  the  Faculty,  and  the  procession  filed  by, 
each  student  shaking  hands  with  the  President  as  he  passed.  .  .  .  God 
bless  him,  was  the  word  in  every  heart  and  on  every  lip.  .  .  .  God  bless 
him,  and  make  him  a  blessing  to  others,  as  he  has  been  to  us. 

He  went  to  a  great  work,  which  was  continued  almost  to  the 
hour  of  his  death  on  Jidy  6,  1880. 

In  reviewing  the  work  of  President  Sears  at  Brown  Uni- 
versity it  must  be  remembered  that  the  central  years  of  his 
administration  fell  in  the  period  of  the  Civil  War.  His  early 
labors  had  hardly  had  time  to  bear  fruit  when  the  war  di- 
verted much  of  the  national  energy  and  wealth  to  other  than 
educational  objects ;  and  he  resigned  before  recovery  from 
the  strain  of  the  prolonged  struggle  had  fairly  begun.  It  is 
therefore  not  surprising  that  the  college  in  his  day  did  not 
grow  in  numbers  or  greatly  increase  in  material  equipment ; 
the  wonder  is,  rather,  that  it  did  so  well  in  both  regards. 
In  1861,  after  some  shrinkage,  the  college  seemed  to  have 

[   360   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

started  on  a  period  of  enlargement :  the  number  of  students 
crept  up  from  189  in  1858-59  to  212  in  1859-60,  and  to 
232  in  1860-61,  when  the  entering  class  was  74,  of  whom 
only  5  were  in  the  partial  course.  During  the  first  three  years 
of  the  war  the  average  number  of  students  was  205 ;  the 
next  two  years,  when  the  tuition  was  raised,  it  fell  to  185  and 
176,  but  in  1866-67  it  rose  to  190,  with  an  entering  class 
of  73.  What  the  growth  would  have  been  if  Dr.  Sears  had 
remained  is  only  matter  of  conjecture,  but  the  college  at  the 
time  he  left  it  was  apparendy  in  a  way  to  make  steady  gains. 

The  growth  in  financial  resources  during  this  adminis- 
tration is  rather  remarkable,  considering  die  disturbed  state 
of  the  times.  There  \\'as  small  increase  in  material  equip- 
ment, but  the  one  new  building  helped  the  work  of  the  col- 
lege at  the  point  ^^•here  help  was  most  needed.  It  speaks 
strongly  for  Dr.  Sears's  energy  and  tact,  and  for  the  confi- 
dence which  business  men  had  in  him,  that  during  his  term 
of  office  the  productive  funds  increased  more  than  $  120,000, 
besides  $36,000  for  scholarships,  and  that  reliable  pledges 
were  received  for  about  $100,000  more.  Much  of  the  new 
income  was  wisely  devoted  to  raising  salaries  and  thus  pre- 
serving or  heightening  the  efficiency  of  the  Faculty.  Presi- 
dent Sears  gave  ample  proof  of  his  wisdom  as  executive 
head  of  the  institution  at  a  gravely  critical  period,  and  fully 
deserved  the  praise  given  him  by  Dr.  Hovey,  that  he  was 
"a  superb  administrator." 

His  relations  with  the  Faculty  are  thus  described  by  Pro- 
fessor Harkness :  "  He  was  the  best  President  to  work  with 
that  I  have  ever  had  the  good  fortune  to  know.  He  encour- 
aged all  departments  while  he  left  all  the  professors  free  to 
adopt  methods  suited  to  their  tastes  and  genius,  believing  that 
thus  the  best  results  would  be  reached."  His  views  of  the 
Faculty  in  relation  to  the  university  as  a  whole  are  expressed 

[   361    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  his  report  as  chairman  of  a  special  committee  in  1863: 
The  strength  of  a  university  lies  in  its  Faculty  of  instruc- 
tion. It  has  become  a  maxim  in  education  that  a  university 
does  not  consist  of  an  assemblage  of  buildings,  however  ne- 
cessary these  may  be,  but  in  an  assemblage  of  able  instruc- 
tors, expounding  the  facts  &  laws  of  science  &  literature  to 
an  organized  body  of  young  men  eager  for  knowledge  & 
discipline." 

With  regard  to  Dr.  Sears  as  a  teacher  there  is  some  dif- 
ference of  opinion.  His  profound  learning  no  one  questions. 
When  his  library  was  sold  at  auction  in  1869,  because  his 
new  work  allow  ed  him  little  opportunity  to  use  it,  the  cata- 
logue of  sale  described  it  thus  :  "  The  Library  embraces  the 
best  works  on  doctrinal  theology,  Roman,  Lutheran,  and 
Reformed.  It  is  very  full  in  general  and  church  history,  still 
more  in  special  history,  ecclesiastical  and  civil.  Biography, 
literary  history,  and  history  of  learned  institutions  are  each 
well  represented,  \\'ith  many  of  the  best  editions  of  the  Greek 
and  Latin  classics. ' '  Not  only  did  he  have  this  superb  schol- 
ar's library  on  his  shelves,  but  he  had  the  contents  in  his 
head  ;  a  manuscript  in  the  New  England  Baptist  Library, 
written  for  the  guidance  of  the  auctioneer  and  indicating  the 
peculiar  merits  of  book  after  book,  affords  detailed  proof  of 
his  familiarity  with  the  great  collection.  In  the  class-room, 
furthermore,  all  agree  that  without  ostentation- — of  which 
he  was  incapable — he  gave  the  impression  of  having  vast 
stores  of  learning  on  all  the  subjects  that  he  taught.  How 
much  he  made  of  the  historical  method  may  be  seen  by  a 
statement  in  his  annual  report  for  1865-66.  His  course  in 
philosophy,  the  first  term,  was  "followed  by  a  critical  ex- 
amination of  the  leading  systems  of  Grecian  philosophy  from 
the  time  of  Thales  to  Plato,  in  the  light  of  the  principles  pre- 
viously laid  down . ' '  The  second  term  he  took  up  the  evi- 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

dences  of  Christianity  and  Christian  ethics.  ' '  In  the  former, 
there  Mas  a  historical  introduction  containinf^  a  critique  of 
the  productions  of  great  ^\•riters  on  the  subject  from  the  ear- 
liest times  to  the  present,  then  a  systematic  oudine  of  Evi- 
dences according  to  the  present  state  of  learning  &  science, 
&,  in  conclusion,  an  examination  of  the  skeptical  theories  of 
Strauss,  Renan  &.  others.  In  the  latter  was  presented  in  out- 
line a  complete  theory  of  ethics  on  Christian  principles." 
He  was  by  nature  and  training  a  historical  student,  and 
wished  to  present  facts  and  theories  in  their  development  and 
historical  relations ;  he  was  less  anxious  to  sink  into  the  minds 
of  his  classes  the  particular  view  which  he  himself  held  than 
to  broaden  their  outlook  on  the  world  of  thought,  and,  by 
showing  them  the  successive  stages  through  which  human 
thinking  and  experience  have  passed,  give  them  the  means 
of  arriving  at  a  judicious  opinion  of  their  own.  But  many 
college  seniors  w^ere  not  ready  for  this  method  of  instruction; 
and  it  is  said  by  some  that  he  was  too  learned  for  his  classes 
and  shot  over  their  heads.  Others  say  that  he  had  no  mag- 
netism, and  failed  to  impress  his  ideas  on  his  pupils.  It  is 
noticeable  that  his  more  mature  or  more  scholarlv  pupils  are 
the  warmest  in  his  praise.  The  Hon.  Richard  Olney,  of  the 
class  of  1856,  says  in  a  recent  letter:  "My  impressions  of 
President  Sears  as  a  teacher  are  very  favorable  indeed.  He 
was  versed  in  all  the  latest  philosophical  theories  and  stated 
them  with  great  lucidity  and  impressiveness.  He  had  opin- 
ions, I  am  sure.  If  he  was  modest  and  not  dogmatic  in  stat- 
ing them,  it  was,  I  think,  because  he  did  not  M'ish  his  teach- 
ings to  be  too  glaringly  in  conflict  with  those  of  his  famous 
predecessor,  Dr.  Wayland."  TheRev.  A.  H.  Plumb,  D.D., 
who  attended  for  six  weeks  President  Sears 's  lectures  at 
Brown  University  in  1856,  wrote:  'He  impressed  me,  as 
a  very  learned  man,  widely  read,  and  profound  in  his  j)hiIo- 

c  363 : 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

sophical  thinking,  wonderfully  rich,  too,  in  his  illustrative 
comments  and  practical  applications  of  principles  in  the 
formation  of  correct  judgments  and  in  the  guidance  of  con- 
duct. ,  .  .  His  replies  to  the  questions  and  obj ections  of  stu- 
dents showed  tactand  power.  "TheRev.  Dr.  J.  B.G.Pidge, 
of  the  class  of  1866,  said:  "On  one  occasion  he  remarked: 
'  I  do  not  care  to  have  you  remember  what  I  say;  I  am  sim- 
ply anxious  to  teach  you  how  to  think.  If  you  learn  that,  you 
may  burn  my  lectures  if  you  will.'  .  .  .  Those  who  sought 
the  class-room  in  order  to  be  thoroughly  drilled-into  some 
definite  scheme  of  philosophy,  probably  went  a\\ay  from 
Doctor  Sears,  grumbling  that  they  had  gotten  nothing.  But 
some  of  us  certainly  found  him  the  most  inspiring  of  college 
teachers." 

The  graciousness  and  poise  of  Dr.  Sears  must  not  be 
allowed  to  leave  the  impression  that  he  lacked  force,  for  no 
such  impression  was  given  by  the  man  himself.  The  uni- 
versal respect  of  the  students  for  him  is  one  proof  of  this. 
When  he  was  appointed  agent  of  the  Peabody  Fund,  the 
Boston  Evening  Transcript  said  of  him :  ' '  Honest,  manly 
and  intrepid,  he  is  still  so  dispassionate  and  unostentatious 
in  his  conscientiousness,  and  so  simply  bent  on  addressing 
the  intellect  and  moral  sense  of  those  he  desires  to  influ- 
ence, that  he  never  stings  their  passions  into  opposition  to  his 
teachings,  nor  rouses  their  willfulness  to  resist  the  reception 
of  his  views.  He  has,  in  short,  all  the  reality  of  force,  with- 
out any  of  its  arrogance.  "Dr.  Hovey  wrote :  "  It  is  possible 
to  emphasize  the  '  sweet  reasonableness '  of  Doctor  Sears  so 
strongly  as  to  obscure  his  indignation  at  wrong  and  even 
his  energy  in  carrying  out  a  deliberate  purpose.  He  was 
from  first  to  last,  as  every  great  worker  must  be,  tenax pro- 
positi. Clear-sighted  in  deliberation,  he  was  strenuous  in  ac- 
tion." Dr.  Heman  Lincoln  speaks  of  a  quality  in  him  which 

C   364   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

is  quite  the  reverse  of  amiable  weakness  :  ' '  No  one  intimate 
with  Doctor  Sears  \\ould  doubt  that  a  power  of  sarcasm  was 
one  of  his  great  intellectual  gifts.  His  intimate  friends  always 
wondered  how  he  could  hold  such  a  power  under  restraint." 
Finally,  a  study  of  the  lineaments  of  President  Sears  con- 
firms the  testimony  of  his  friends.  It  is  a  New  England  face, 
with  a  touch  of  rusticity  about  it  still,  in  spite  of  years 
of  intellectual  labor  at  home  and  abroad ;  and  through  its 
urbanity  and  Christian  kindliness  there  look  out  Yankee 
shrewdness  and  determination.  Dr.  Sears  was  rather  a  \Aise 
administrator  than  an  original  thinker  or  great  driving  force 
in  education.  He  was  not  a  son  of  thunder,  like  President 
Wayland;  but  in  sunshine  as  well  as  in  thunder  there  is 
power. 


C   365   ] 


CHAPTER  IX 
PRESIDENT  CASWELL'S  ADMINISTRATION 

PROFESSOR    CHACE   AS   TEMPORARY     PRESIDENT  :  INCREASE    IN    ENDOW- 
MENT :   ALUMNI    ASSOCIATIONS   :    SOCIAL    LIFE    OF    THE 
undergraduates:   baseball  AND   BOATING 

ON  April  17,  1867,  the  same  day  that  they  accepted  the 
resignation  of  Dr.  Sears,  the  Corporation  elected  as  his 
successor  the  Rev.  Dr.  Martin  B.  Anderson,  President  of 
the  University  of  Rochester.  His  declination  created  a  grave 
crisis.  The  Corporation  could  not  agree  on  any  one  for  the 
presidency,  and  in  July  appointed  a  committee  to  consider 
the  matter.  The  situation  caused  alarm  among  the  friends  of 
the  university,  and  some  demand  was  heard  that  the  char- 
ter be  so  revised  as  to  remove  the  denominational  restriction 
in  the  choice  of  president.  When  the  Corporation  met  in 
September,  the  committee  reported  that  they  were  awaiting 
an  answer  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ezekiel  G.  Robinson,  Presi- 
dent of  Rochester  Theological  Seminary,  who  was  abroad, 
and  recommended  the  election  of  Professor  Chace  as  presi- 
dent for  the  first  term.  The  recommendation  was  adopted, 
and  Professor  Chace  consented  to  serve  as  president  ad  in- 
tenim.  He  discharged  the  duties  of  his  temporary  office  very 
ably.  He  taught  philosophy  to  the  seniors  with  character- 
istic brilliancy;  he  organized  a  three-year  course  for  holders 
of  the  new  agricultural  scholarships,  under  the  headof  '  'Ag- 
ricultural and  Scientific  Department, ' '  to  meet  the  require- 
ments which  the  state  had  imposed  five  years  before;  and 
at  the  end  of  the  half-year  he  submitted  to  the  Corporation 
a  vigorous  and  incisive  report  on  the  needs  of  the  college, 
with  special  attention  to  scholarships  and  the  Faculty. 
Meanwhile  Dr.  Robinson  had  refused  to  accept  a  nom- 
C   366  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ination  for  the  presidency,  and  the  Corporation  were  con- 
fronted with  a  difficult  problem.  One  party  strongly  favored 
Professor  Chace  for  permanent  j)resident;  but  the  Corpora- 
tion as  a  whole,  although  they  put  on  record  their  apprecia- 
tion of  the  "judicious  faithful  and  successful"  service  of  the 
president  ad  interini^  deemed  it  best  to  recall  the  venerable 
Dr.  Caswell,  who  was  accordinglv  elected  president  on  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1868.  PresidentCaswell  was  born  January  29, 1799, 
in  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  where  his  ancestors  had  lived 
since  the  settlement  of  the  iown  earl}-  in  the  seventeenth 
century;  through  his  paternal  grandmother  he  was  descended 
from  Peregrine  White,  born  on  board  the  Mayflo^\•er.  After 
a  youth  spent  on  his  father's  farm,  he  prepared  for  college 
at  Taunton  Academy,  and  entered  Brown  University  in 
1818.  He  graduated  in  1822,  at  the  head  of  his  class,  and 
for  the  next  five  years  taught  in  Columbian  College,  at 
the  same  time  studying  theology  with  the  president  of  the 
institution.  He  then  became  pastor  of  a  Baptist  church  in 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  whence  he  returned  in  the  summer 
of  1828  to  be  assistant  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
in  Providence.  A  few  weeks  later  he  ^^'as  chosen  professor  of 
mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  in  the  university,  to 
which  he  gave  thirty-six  years  of  continuous  service,  except 
for  a  year  in  Europe  in  1860,  resigning  in  1864.  He  was 
not  wholly  new  to  executive  work,  for  he  had  been  acting 
presidentin  1840-41,  during  Dr.  Wayland's  visit  to  Europe, 
and  regent  in  1852-55.  Brown  University  gave  him  the 
degree  of  D.D.  in  1844,  and  LL.D.  in  1853. 

In  spite  of  his  age  Dr.  Caswell  entered  upon  the  presi- 
dency with  the  cheerful  though  modest  confidence  charac- 
teristic of  him,  and  for  four  and  a  half  years  guided  the  af- 
fairs of  the  institution  with  sober  wisdom.  It  was  not  thought 
best,  however,  to  burden  him  Mith  the  labor  of  instruction, 

i:   367   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

and  indeed  the  subjects  which  usually  fell  to  the  president 
were  out  of  his  line.  Professor  Chace,  therefore,  continued 
to  be  professor  of  intellectual  and  moral  philosophy,  A  new 
chancellor,  the  Hon.  William  S.  Patten,  had  already  been 
elected  on  September  5, 1867.  The  administrative  side  of  the 
university  was  further  strengthened  at  the  annual  meeting 
on  September  3,  1868,  by  the  creation  of  an  Advisory  and 
Executive  Committee,  of  nine  members  besides  the  presi- 
dent," to  give  to  the  President  the  assistance  of  their  coun- 
sel when  it  is  desired  by  him , "  "  to  act  on  occasions  of  emer- 
gency, and  to  suggest  and  prepare  subjects  to  be  considered 
or  acted  upon  by  the  Corporation,"  and  "to  see  that  the 
Laws  of  the  Corporation  are  carried  into  effect  by  the  offi- 
cers, and  observed  by  the  students  of  the  University." 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  a  man  of  Dr.  Caswell's  years 
and  temperament  would  attempt  innovations  in  educational 
policy  or  would  prove  a  very  vigorous  disciplinarian.  The 
general  nature  of  his  administration  is  thus  described  by  his 
colleague,  Professor  Lincoln:  "He  administered  the  Presi- 
dential office  in  a  spirit  of  manly  independence,  and  stood 
firmly,  at  whatever  cost  of  personal  convenience  and  personal 
interest,  to  the  responsibilities  which  devolved  upon  him. 
...  In  his  intercourse  with  the  students,  he  so  tempered  his 
official  dignity  with  the  courtesy  and  kindness  of  a  friend, 
silently  drawing  all  into  a  reciprocal  relation  of  Christian 
gentlemen,  that  he  was  universally  esteemed  and  loved." 

The  college  made  some  progress  under  President  Cas- 
well. Thefunds  wereincreasedfrom$327,000to$602,000, 
partly  by  the  payment  of  pledges  previously  made,  and 
partly  by  new  donations.  The  tuition  went  up,  in  1870, 
from  $50  to  $75,^  and  room  rents  from  $9  to  $20.  The  next 

*  Tuition  at  this  time,  or  shortly  before,  was  $150  at  Harvard,  $90  at  Yale, 
$75  at  Amherst,  $60  at  Dartmouth. 

C   368   n 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

year  the  entrance  requirements  were  also  raised  by  the  ad- 
dition of  two  books  of  the  Anahasis  or  of  Homer,  quadratic 
equations  and  plane  geometry,  and  ' '  the  Analysis  and  Pros- 
ody of  the  First  Act  of  Julius  Caesar,  in  Craik's  English  of 
Shakspeare."  In  spite  of  all  this  there  was  some  increase 
in  number  of  students,  the  attendance  rising  from  186  in 
1867-68  to  224  in  1871-72.  This  growth  was  doubtless 
due  in  a  measure  to  additional  aid  offered.  A  loan  fund  of 
$11,000  was  mentioned  in  the  catalogue  of  1867-68;  in 
subsequent  years,  $8000.  The  David  Howell  scholarship 
in  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy,  founded  by  the 
gift  of  $1000  from  G.  Lyman  Dwight,  great-grandson  of 
Professor  Howell,  was  announced  in  1868-69.  In  the  same 
year  were  advertised  the  two  Carpenter  premiums  of  $60 
each,  for  seniors  uniting  in  the  highest  degree  "ability, 
character,  and  attainment"  ;  and  also  the  Carpenter  prizes 
in  elocution,  of  $60,  $36,  and  $24,  then  confined  to  juniors. 
Thirty  state  scholarships,  derived  from  the  income  of  the 
money  obtained  by  the  sale  of  the  Western  lands,  and  open 
only  to  citizens  of  Rhode  Island,  were  first  spoken  of  in  the 
catalogue  of  1870—71.  The  Dunn  Premium,  established  in 
1869,  has  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Salaries  were  raised  during  Dr.  Caswell's  presidency. 
In  1870-71  the  five  older  professors  received  $2750,  and 
the  younger  ones  $2500  or  less ;  the  next  year  these  maxi- 
mum professorial  salaries  went  up  to  $3000,  and  Professor 
Chace  was  paid  $500  extra  for  a  course  in  geology ;  since 
1867  Professor  Lincoln  had  received  $700  extra  for  teach- 
ing German.  President  Caswell's  salary  remained  at  $2000 
throughout  his  term. 

There  were  several  additions  to  the  Faculty  and  the  cur- 
riculum. Dr.  Charles  W.  Parsons  was  appointed  lecturer 
in  anatomy  and  physiology  (including  botany  and  zoology) 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  1867,  chiefly  for  the  Agricukural  and  Scientific  Depart- 
ment. Professor  Timothy  W.  Bancroft  succeeded  Professor 
Dunn  in  1868  ;  and  in  that  year  instruction  in  civil  engineer- 
ing, which  had  been  given  up  in  1863,  was  oflfered  again, 
and  spread  over  three  years.  In  1870  William  C.  Poland 
began  his  long  connection  with  the  Faculty,  as  instructor 
in  Greek,  and  Alonzo  Williams  became  tutor  in  Greek  and 
Latin.  The  Hazard  chair  of  physics,  established  by  the 
gift  of  $40,000  from  Rowland  G.  Hazard  and  Rowland 
Hazard,  was  filled  in  1870  by  the  appointment  of  Eli  Whit- 
ney Blake,  Jr.  Two  years  later  William  S.  Rogers,  nephew 
of  the  first  student  enrolled  in  the  college,  endow^ed  the 
chair  of  chemistry  by  the  gift  of  $50,000.  The  need  of 
more  liberal  appropriations  for  apparatus  and  materials  in 
these  and  other  departments  of  science  had  been  very  great, 
if  we  may  credit  The  Bninonian  of  April,  1870  : 

The  chemical  department  needs  more  apparatus  to  enable  the  Pro- 
fessor to  illustrate  fully  all  the  subjects  presented.  A  cabinet  of  com- 
parative anatomy  is  essential  to  any  college.  .  .  .  Every  plant  and  ani- 
mal is  an  expressed  thought  of  God,  and  cannot  be  presented  through 
the  medium  of  a  professor.  Brown  has  one  ghastly  skeleton  and  two 
or  three  small  charts,  and  a  few  promiscuous  bones !  Natural  Philoso- 
phy is  also  destitute  of  means  for  making  the  subject  interesting,  if 
it  is  possible  to  make  it  so.  Juniors  are  edified  with  a  clothes-line  and 
a  broken  fiddle! 

It  must  have  gratified  the  editors  to  learn,  two  months  later, 
that  Mr.  Rogers  had  given  the  department  of  chemistry 
$500  for  the  purchase  of  apparatus  ;  and  at  about  the  same 
time  the  Corporation  authorized  the  expenditure  of  $1000 
for  apparatus  in  physics.  Those  thoughts  of  God  for  which 
professors  are  no  substitute  were  also  soon  supplied,  as 
appears  from  the  following  statement  in  the  catalogue  of 
1871-72: 

C   370  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

During  the  last  year  several  aclclitlonal  large  aises  were  jjlaced  in  Rhode 
Island  Hall,  for  the  deposit  of  specimens  ilktstrating  the  diflerent 
branches  of  Natural  History.  .  .  .  Arrangements  have  now  been  made 
for  adding  to  the  Cabinet  an  extremeh'  valuable  collection  of  ])irds, 
numbering  about  tort} -five  hundred;  and  also  such  specimens  in 
Mammalogy,  Herpetologj-,  Icthyology,  Concholog}-  and  Compara- 
tive Anatomy,  as  will  meet  the  wants  of  instruction,  and  of  the  gen- 
eral student  in  these  departments.  The  mounting  and  arrangement  of 
the  specimens  is  entrusted  to  the  care  of  Mr.  J.  W.  P.  Jenks,  A.M., 
a  well  informed  practical  natui"alist,  and  a  most  skillful  Taxidennist. 

One  of  the  wisest  acts  of  Dr.  Caswell's  presidency  was  his 
reviving  of  the  almost  defunct  alumni  association.  At  the 
end  of  his  first  half-year  as  president  he  invited  the  alumni 
to  meet  him  in  Manning  Hall,  on  the  Tuesday  before  Com- 
mencement, to  consult  on  the  interests  of  the  institution. 
Annual  meetings  were  held  thenceforth,  and  a  permanent 
organization  was  effected  in  1872.  At  the  suggestion  of  the 
general  association  local  associations  were  also  formed  —  in 
New  York  in  1869,  in  Philadelphia  and  Boston  in  1870  — 
which  have  been  centers  of  influence  ever  since,  and  the 
forerunners  of  many  other  associations  all  over  the  country. 
The  general  association  showed  from  the  first  a  strong  desire 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  university,  discussing  the  es- 
tablishment of  graduate  scholarships,  the  erection  of  a  gym- 
nasium and  a  fireproof  library  building,  and  other  needs.  At 
the  meeting  in  1868  it  was  unanimously  resohed, ' '  That  in 
the  opinion  of  the  Alumni  the  interests  of  the  University 
require  that  the  whole  body  of  graduates  should  be  brought 
into  some  more  immediate  connection  with  it."  Out  of  this 
there  soon  grew  a  request  that  the  alumni  be  gi\en  some 
part  in  the  election  of  trustees,  which  in  1875  issued  in  a 
system  of  nominations  by  the  alumni  for  vacant  positions 
on  the  board  of  trustees,  the  Corporation  reserving  the  right 
to  ignore  the  nominations  if  thev  saw  fit.  This  quickened 

[  371  ■] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

spirit  of  loyalty  on  the  part  of  the  alumni,  together  with 
the  growing  emphasis  upon  the  social  side  of  Commence- 
ment week,  favored  the  custom  of  holding  class  reunions, 
which  from  about  this  time  became  more  numerous  and 
regular. 

In  1870  Commencement  day  was  changed  to  the  last 
Wednesday  in  June.  Harvard  and  some  other  universities 
had  already  set  the  example ;  and  the  new  date  was  more 
convenient  for  the  graduating  class  and  for  townspeople, 
who  more  and  more  delayed,  or  wished  to  delay,  their  return 
from  seaside  and  mountain.  In  1875  the  day  was  moved 
to  the  third  Wednesday,  where  it  has  since  remained,  ex- 
cept for  a  return  to  the  fourth  Wednesday  in  1892  and  1893. 
The  Commencement  of  1870  was  also  notable  for  the  size 
of  the  graduating  class,  fifty-three  in  number,  the  largest 
so  far  in  the  history  of  the  university.  By  the  close  of  Pres- 
ident Caswell's  administration,  in  1872,  the  exercises  of 
Commencement  week  had  assumed  the  order  which  they 
retained,  with  trifling  changes,  for  many  years  :  Class  Day 
came  on  Friday ;  on  Saturday  morning  was  the  Carpenter 
contest  in  declamation ;  on  Sunday  afternoon  the  President 
preached  a  baccalaureate  sermon  in  theFirst  Baptist  Meeting- 
House;  the  sermon  before  the  Society  of  Missionary  Inquiry 
was  preached  the  same  evening ;  on  Tuesday  occurred  the 
annual  business  meeting  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  the 
oration  before  that  body  or  the  alumni,  the  alumni  meeting 
in  Manning  Hall,  and  the  class  reunions  ;  Wednesday  was 
Commencement  day,  with  the  graduating  exercises  in  the 
forenoon,  the  alumni  dinner  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  Presi- 
dent's reception  in  the  evening  ;  on  Thursday  the  Corpora- 
tion met. 

The  calendar  for  the  academic  year  1871—72  offers  some 
points  of  interest,  in  comparison  with  both  the  past  and  the 

t   372   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

future.  The  year  began  on  Friday,  September  8  ;  examina- 
tions for  admission  came  on  the  same  day  ;  Thanksgi\ing 
week  was  a  recess;  no  hoHdays  are  mentioned  in  connection 
with  Christmas;  the  first  term  ended  on  January  18,  and  was 
followed  by  a  recess  of  three  neeks  ;  the  second  term  began 
on  Friday,  February  9  ;  the  junior  exhibition,  on  April  27, 
was  folloA\ed  by  a  week's  recess;  term  examinations  for 
seniors  came  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  for  the  other  students 
on  June  18,  19,  20;  Commencement  week  followed;  and 
examinations  for  admission  were  held  on  June  27  and  28. 
In  undergraduate  life  during  this  administration  social 
and  athletic  activities  played  an  increasingly  important  part. 
Class  Day  grew  more  and  more  gay,  although  dances  and 
receptions  were  still  a  minor  feature.  This  growing  love  for 
the  joys  and  graces  of  life  made  the  students  keenly  appre- 
ciative of  social  attentions  from  members  of  the  Faculty. 
Professor  Chace  began  the  practice,  in  1869,  of  inviting 
the  seniors  in  groups  of  four  or  five  to  tea  at  his  home,  the 
"Mansion  House"  on  Benefit  Street,  and  The  Brunonian 
of  January,  1871,  says  of  one  such  evening: 

The  cheerflil  social  character  of  the  meeting,  the  interest  in  our  per- 
sonal welfare  so  plainly  expressed  both  by  the  Professor,  and  also  his 
excellent  wife,  the  instructive  conversation,  the  perusal  ot  \-aluable 
books,  and  the  examination  of  the  costly  paintings  that  adorn  the 
walls  of  the  parlors,  together  with  the  explanations  of  their  meaning 
received  fi*om  the  lips  of  the  Professor  as  we  stood  before  them,  all 
these  and  many  more  interesting  facts  connected  with  those  meetings 
will  be  recalled  with  pleasure  long  after  the  memoiy  of  even  Com- 
mencement Day  shall  have  passed  away. 

A  rather  amusing  passage  in  The  Bninonian  of  May,  1872, 
expresses  not  only  the  undergraduates'  pleasure  in  social 
intercourse,  but  also  their  sense  of  the  need  of  its  refining 
influence : 

[    373    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

On  a  certain  lo%ely  evening  just  at  the  close  of  the  half-term  the  niem- 
bei^s  of  the  senior  class  were  honored  as  their  predecessors  in  that  posi- 
tion had  been.  The  hospitable  roof  of  the  president  was  inade  to  co\'er 
the  in\ited  forms  of  classmates  and  friends  of  the  gentler  sex.  .  .  .  The 
dignits'  and  affability  with  which  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Caswell  did  the  hon- 
ors of  the  CA'ening;  the  brilliant  assemblage  and  more  brilliant  con- 
versation; the  interchange  of  greetings  at  the  instance  of  the  ushers; 
the  sufficient  and  elegant  refreshments ;  the  air  of  chastened  pleasure 
which  surrounded  the  scenes  of  the  whole  evening;  — these  were  part 
of  the  remembrances  which  the  class  brought  away.  The  student  was 
led  to  feel  by  this  exhibition  of  the  good  feeling  of  the  president,  that 
the  demands  of  society  and  the  cultivation  of  social  qualities  should 
not  be  overlooked.  The  student  is  himself  in  a  certain  limited  sphere; 
but  out  of  that  ver>"  many  find  themsehes  at  a  loss,  and  the  recurrence 
of  such  occasions  as  this  but  confirms  the  opinion,  perhaps  not  fliUy 
formed,  that  relaxation  is  positi\ely  one  of  our  needs. 

In  contrast  to  these  cultured  homes  the  students  felt  all  the 
more  keenly  the  unloveliness  and  discomfort  of  the  dormi- 
tories. The  Bninoman  of  April,  1869,  says  of  the  rooms: 

Old  and  worn  out  floors  ruinous  to  decent  carpets,  may  be  a  neces- 
sit}' :  tumble  down  ceilings  and  broken  plaster,  are  often  attendants 
of  respectable  poverty,  which  we  believe  to  be  the  condition  of  Mother 
Brown;  but  broken  ill  fitted  window  sashes,  through  which  the  winter 
wind  whistles  hoarselv,  and  cracked  doors  giving  unrestrained  admis- 
sion to  li\'elv  breezes,  surely  these  are  badges  of  shiftless  wretchedness, 
and  admit  of  no  excuse.  These,  howe^■er,  are  rule,  not  the  exception, 
here.  ...  In  many  of  these  apaitments  the  paint  and  paper  are  old, 
tattered  and  n.istv, — the  fiimiture  is  broken,  rickety  and  of  many 
fashions,  and  they  are  lighted  in  the  evening  by  the  pauper  method 
of  oil  lainps. 

There  were  also  loud  complaints  of  the  slovenly  service  of 
the  "male  chambermaids," 

This  regard  for  the  attractiveness  of  college  rooms  and 
buildings  was  stimulated  by  the  growing  popularity  of 
Class  Day,  when  the  students  were  hosts  to  mothers  and 

C   374  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

sisters  and  other  fair  guests  as  yet  unrelated.  The  bare 
college  chapel  received  its  share  of  the  new  aesthetic  criti- 
cism ;  and  the  appearance  of  the  grounds  became  an  ob- 
ject of  solicitude,  "No  College  can  lx)ast  of  a  finer  located 
campus  than  Brow  n ,"  remarked  'Hw  Bnnum'ian  of  July, 
1870.  "If  kept  neatly  shaven  ...  it  would  add  much  to  the 
beauty  of  our  surroundings.  But  when,  as  at  present,  it  is 
used  as  an  adjunct  of  the  Agricultural  Department,  it  only 
serves  to  practically  illustrate  the  process  of  raising  hay." 
In  the  November  issue  the  editors  were  able  to  rejoice  that 
one  practical  improvement  had  been  made,  "the  muddy 
paths"  having  given  place  to  "numerous  fine,  broad  con- 
crete walks,"  although  some  dirt  paths  yet  remained. 

At  least  one  thing  in  the  college  had  a  distinct  aesthetic 
value  —  the  collection  of  portraits  in  Rhode  Island  Hall,  first 
mentioned  in  the  catalogue  in  1869.  It  had  been  forming 
for  some  years.  In  1857  eleven  portraits  (mostly  copies)  of 
men  conspicuous  in  the  history  of  Rhode  Island  were  giAen 
to  the  university  as  the  result  of  a  movement  started  by  the 
Hon.  John  R.  Bartlett,  secretary  of  state ;  the  portraits  w  ere 
those  of  Governor  William  Coddington,  Commodore  Esek 
Hopkins,  Commodore  Abraham  Whipple,  Moses  Brown, 
Colonel  William  Barton,  Gilbert  Stuart,  Samuel  Slater, 
Thomas  P.  Ives,  Tristam  Burges,  Henry  Wheaton,  and 
Captain  Oliver  H.  Perry.  They  were  hung  in  the  upper 
room  of  Rhode  Island  Hall,  and  others  were  added  from 
time  to  time,  some  of  which  —  as  those  of  President  Man- 
ning and  Nicholas  Brown  —  had  been  in  the  possession  of 
the  university  for  many  years.  A  portrait  of  Adoniram  Jud- 
son  had  been  given  in  1846  by  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
and  one  of  President  Wayland,  at  about  the  same  time,  by 
John  Carter  Brown.  In  1860  the  friends  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Crocker,  rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  presented  his  portrait; 

C   375   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

and  in  1863,  through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Bartlett,  six  more 
historical  portraits  were  added  to  the  collection  —  General 
Ambrose  E.  Burnside,  General  Isaac  P.  Rodman,  Colonel 
Christopher  Greene,  Dr.  Solomon  Drowne,  Charles  II,  and 
Catherine  his  queen.  The  total  collection  in  1869  included 
thirty-five  portraits,  besides  the  bust  of  Wayland  referred 
to  in  a  preceding  chapter  ;  among  the  recent  accessions  was 
an  oil  painting  of  Dr.  Sears. 

Athletics  at  Brown  made  great  advance  for  a  while  under 
President  Caswell.  On  June  17, 1868,  the  sophomore  base- 
ball nine  played  a  memorable  game  on  the  Dexter  Train- 
ing Ground,  before  an  "immense  crowd,"  defeating  by 
a  score  of  22  to  19  the  famous  Lowell  club,  the  champions 
of  New  England.  The  'varsity  nine,  although  composed 
largely  of  men  from  the  '70  team,  had  less  success.  Next 
year  it  was  a  class  team,  again,  that  made  the  best  showing. 
The  freshman  nine,  after  defeating  the  Harvard  freshmen 
at  Providence  on  July  1,  set  out  on  a  week's  tour — some- 
thing almost  unknown  then  in  college  sports, — playing 
freshman  nines  at  Yale,  Wesleyan,  Amherst,  and  Dart- 
mouth. They  were  beaten  at  Yale  and  Dartmouth;  but  the 
spirit  shown  by  the  nine  and  by  the  class  in  supporting  them 
set  a  new  standard  in  sports  at  Brown.  Between  Septem- 
ber 26,  1870,  and  June  26,  1871,  the  'varsity  team  played 
thirteen  games  and  won  eight.  In  the  following  year  there 
was  no  'varsity  nine,  and  little  baseball  of  an}^  kind. 

In  1868  had  come  a  revival  of  interest  in  boating.  The 
boat-club  was  reorganized  and  enlarged;  the  boat-house  was 
repaired;  and  two  crews  went  to  practicing  daily  in  sec- 
ond-hand shells.  In  the  spring,  however,  the  interest  flagged 
again,  and  no  crew  was  sent  to  the  intercollegiate  regatta  in 
the  summer  of  1869.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  the  sys- 
tem of  class  crews  was  introduced  with  happy  results ;  and 

i:   376   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

when  winter  came  the  crews  went  into  training  in  the  gym- 
nasium—  for  in  the  spring  of  1869,  and  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  year  1869-70,  the  students  had  the  use  of  a  pri- 
vate gymnasium  on  Canal  Street,  the  college  bearing  half 
the  expense.  In  the  spring  of  1870  the  hopes  of  the  under- 
graduates centered  in  the  freshman  six-oar  crew,  who  were 
taken  seriously  in  hand  by  the  captain  of  the  university 
club,  after  the  examinations  in  June,  and  put  through  a  long 
and  rigorous  drill.  On  the  day  of  the  regatta,  July  22,  twenty 
thousand  spectators  lined  the  shores  of  Lake  Quinsigamond. 
There  were  four  freshman  crews,  representing  Harvard, 
Yale,  Amherst,  and  Brown.  The  course  was  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  a  stake,  and  return.  Amherst  took  the  lead,  but  weak- 
ened at  the  end  of  a  mile,  and  ran  into  Brown's  water;  the 
two  boats  fouled,  with  the  loss  of  Amherst's  rudder,  and 
were  separated  only  by  the  coolness  of  the  Brown  bow-oar. 
Amherst  fell  out  of  the  race,  and  Brown  continued.  Mean- 
while Yale  had  got  ten  lengths  ahead,  and  Harvard  six.  So 
steady  and  strong  was  the  Brown  stroke,  however,  that  be- 
fore the  stake  was  reached  Harvard  had  been  passed  and 
Yale  had  a  lead  of  only  a  length.  Yale  turned  wide ;  and  the 
Brown  crew,  coolly  using  the  quick  turn  they  had  practiced 
so  often  —  holding  the  port  oars  deep  in  the  M^ater  and  row- 
ing with  the  starboard  oars,  —  neatly  made  the  turn  be- 
tween the  Yale  boat  and  the  stake,  and  started  for  the  goal 
a  length  ahead.  From  that  moment  the  crew  never  changed 
their  steady  swing,  forty-four  strokes  to  a  minute,  until  they 
crossed  the  line  in  19  minutes,  21  seconds,  six  lengths  ahead 
of  Yale,  whose  time  was  24  seconds  slower.  Amherst  claimed 
a  foul,  but  the  judges  decided  against  her  and  awarded  the 
prize  to  the  Brown  crew. 

The  victory  aroused  immense  enthusiasm  for  boating 
among  the  Brown  undergraduates.  The  next  autumn  four 

t   377   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

class  crews  took  the  water,  and  on  October  15  they  raced 
on  the  Seekonk,  the  freshman  crew  winning,  the  sopho- 
mores second.  That  winter  practice  in  the  gymnasium  was 
resumed;  and  in  the  summer  of  1871  a  freshman  crew 
and  a  'varsity  crew  were  sent  to  the  intercollegiate  regatta  at 
Ingleside,  near  Springfield,  on  the  Connecticut  River;  but 
both  were  defeated.  The  following  summer  there  were  class 
races  on  the  Seekonk,  and  a  freshman  crew  \\as  sent  to 
Ingleside.  At  the  regatta  at  Saratoga,  in  1874,  Brown  was 
again  represented  by  an  unsuccessful  freshman  crew.  In  the 
autumn  the  boat-house  and  all  the  shells  were  destroyed  by 
fire ;  but  students.  Faculty,  townspeople,  and  alumni  enthu- 
siastically combined  to  make  good  the  loss,  and  the  follow- 
ing summer  the  college  sent  both  a  '  varsity  and  a  freshman 
crew  to  Saratoga.  Continued  defeat,  however,  at  last  damp- 
ened the  undergraduates'  ardor,  and  boating  has  since  been 
almost  wholly  neglected  at  Brown. 

A  glee  club  representing  the  whole  college,  and  giving 
public  concerts,  dates  from  the  year  1869.  On  June  14  it 
gave  a  concert  in  the  Horse  Guards  Armory,  before  a  large 
audience;  and  on  this  occasion  "Alma  Mater,"  under  its 
first  name  of  ' '  Old  Brown, ' '  after  sleeping  unnoticed  in  the 
columns  of  The  Brown  Paper  {ov  nine  years,  was  sung,  and 
won  instant  favor.  It  was  played  by  the  band  at  Commence- 
ment next  autumn,  and  two  years  later  was  sung  by  the 
glee  club  at  the  Commencement  dinner.  When  the  seniors 
bade  Professor  Chace  farewell,  in  1872,  they  sang  "Alma 
Mater,"  a\  hich  was  then  spoken  of  as  "sweetest  of  college 
songs."  The  alumni,  however,  were  not  yet  familiar  with 
the  words,  and  "  Old  Hundred  "  continued  for  some  years 
to  be  the  closing  song  at  Commencement  dinners.  College 
musical  clubs  thenceforth  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  col- 
lege life,  singing  at  Class  Dav  and  Commencement  (a  cus- 

C   378   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

torn  which  might  ^\'ell  be  revived),  giving  concerts  for  the 
benefit  of  athletics,  and  sometimes  accompanying  the  teams 
on  their  trips.  Dramatics  also  received  some  attention  at  this 
time.  The  Hammer  and  Tongs  revived  tow  ard  the  end  of 
the  administration,  and  gave  several  successful  plays.  The 
interest  spread  to  the  classes,  juniors  and  seniors  present- 
ing enjoyable  comedies  in  1871  and  1872,  for  the  benefit  of 
baseball  and  boating. 

The  literary  life  was  not  forgotten.  The  Sears  Reading 
Room  Association  was  formed  in  1868,  and  under  different 
names  and  in  various  quarters  has  sur\ived  to  this  day.  In 
March  of  the  same  year  the  college  magazine,  TJie  Bnt- 
nonian,  emerged  from  a  sleep  longer  than  Rip  Van  Winkle's 
and  started  anew  on  its  career.  For  the  first  two  years  it 
was  a  quarterly,  and  then  was  published  six  or  seven  times 
a  year  until  1874-75,  when  it  became  a  tri-weekly.  The 
magazine  was  a  credit  to  the  college  from  the  first.  The  seri- 
ous essays,  though  lacking  originality,  often  show  matur- 
itv  in  thought  and  style.  Now  and  then  appears  an  article 
of  much  promise — a  judicious  literary  criticism  by  W.E. 
Foster;  a  racy,  imaginative  sketch  by  I.  N.  Ford,  whose  ini- 
tials were  to  become  so  familiar  at  the  bottom  of  his  Lon- 
don letters  to  The  New  York  Tribune;  or  a  virile,  vivid  war- 
sketch  by  E.  B.  Andrews.  x\bout  half  of  each  number  was 
filled  with  college  news  and  editorial  comment,  and  in  1871 
a  department  of  alumni  notes  was  begun.  In  The  Bninoman 
and  the  Liber Bnmensis  the  undergraduate  life  found  a  voice. 
They  were  the  eifect  of  increasing  social  consciousness  in 
the  student  body,  and  became  in  turn  a  cause  of  its  further 
growth.  Combined  with  the  athletic  and  social  activities  of 
the  whole  college  and  of  classes  and  smaller  groups,  the}- 
cultivated  the  sense  of  a  common  life  larger  than  that  of 
the  individual;  and  therefore  it  is  not  an  accident  that  ^lie 

I   S19  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Bnmoman  soon  began  to  invoke  by  name  that  invisible  but 
potent  deity,"  college  spirit,"  whose  worship  has  been  cul- 
tivated so  ardently  ever  since,  sometimes  with  zeal  not  ac- 
cording to  knowledge,  but  on  the  whole  with  good  results. 
In  1872  Professor  Chace  withdrew  from  the  university, 
in  which  he  had  been  a  teacher  since  1831.  He  was  born  at 
Lancaster,  Massachusetts,  on  February  19,  1808.  After  a 
boyhood  on  a  farm,  he  studied  in  Lancaster  Academy,  and 
entered  Brown  University  as  a  sophomore  in  1827,  grad- 
uating in  1830  as  valedictorian.  The  next  year  he  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  academy  in  Waterville,  Maine,  but  returned  to 
Brown  in  the  autumn  of  1831  as  tutor;  his  promotion  was 
thenceforth  rapid,  and  his  versatility  is  shown  by  the  diver- 
sity of  subjects  he  taught.  He  became  adjunct  professor  of 
mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  in  1833,  professor  of 
chemistry  in  1834,  and  professor  of  chemistry,  geology, 
and  physiology  in  1836  ;  at  various  times"  thereafter  he  also 
taught  chemistry  applied  to  the  arts,  physical  geography, 
and  Butler's  Analogy^  and  from  1867  to  1872  he  was  pro- 
fessor of  mental  and  moral  philosophy.  Whatever  the  sub- 
ject, he  taught  it  with  signal  ability.  The  Rev.  George  P. 
Fisher,of  the  class  of  1847,  professor  in  Yale  College,  writes : 
"He  was  regarded  ...  by  all  the  students  as  a  teacher  of 
remarkable  acuteness  and  logical  ability,  and  as  exacting,  in 
the  good  sense  of  the  term.  .  .  .  His  order  was  lucid  ;  he  did 
not  crowd  the  hearer's  mind  with  minutiae ;  he  set  forth  the 
main  facts  and  principles  of  the  science  simply  and  precisely ; 
he  was  fluent  without  being  too  rapid."  President  James 
B.  Angell,  of  the  class  of  1849,  says:  "Heuntangled  a  diffi- 
cult problem  with  such  simplicity  that  men  disinclined  to 
mathematics  learned  to  like  them  under  his  instruction.  In 
illustrating  scientific  teaching  he  was  very  skillful  as  a  manip- 
ulator and  experimenter.  He  was  one  of  the  few  men  who 

C   380  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

could  talk  well  while  conducting  an  experiment."  President 
E.  B.  Andrews,  of  the  classof  1870,  says  :  "  Professor  Chace 
had  the  keenest  analytic  power  of  any  thinker  \\  horn  I 
have  ever  heard  discourse;  and,  what  is  very  rare  indeed, 
he  joined  with  this  a  hardly  less  remarkable  faculty  for  gen- 
eralization, which  enabled  him,  on  grasping  the  salient 
notions  of  a  philosophical  system,  to  think  his  way  rapidly 
to  its  remotest  deductions  with  but  a  fraction  of  the  read- 
ing which  many  another  scholar  would  have  required.  .  .  . 
There  was  moral  quickening  as  well  as  intellectual,  contin- 
ual pungent  reminders  of  the  supremacy  of  moral  law,  of 
the  reasonableness  and  worth  of  religion.  Pupils  awoke  to 
their  powers  and  their  duties." 

Professor  Chace  had  a  wide  reputation  as  a  lecturer,  giv- 
ing lectures  before  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Peabody 
Institute  in  Baltimore,  the  Ando\  er  and  Newton  theological 
seminaries,  and  elsewhere.  His  clear  and  vigorous  style  also 
made  him  a  favorite  contributor  to  periodicals :  among  his 
articles  are  a  series  on  natural  theology  in  the  B'lblwtheca 
Sacra  in  1848-50,  "The  Persistence  of  Physical  Laws," 
in  The  North  American  Revieiv,  July,  1855,  and  a  review 
of  Rowland  G.  Hazard's  "  Man  a  Creative  First  Cause," 
in  The  Aiidover  Review^  December,  1884.  Although  not 
an  original  investigator,  he  was  skillful  in  the  application  of 
science  to  the  useful  arts,  and  introduced  new  methods  in 
some  of  the  manufactories  of  Providence ;  in  the  earl}-  six- 
ties his  advice  was  so  much  sought  by  prospective  buyers  of 
gold  mines  that  he  was  often  given  leave  of  absence  that  he 
might  visit  mines  in  Nova  Scotia,  Canada,  Colorado,  and 
Central  America.  His  executive  ability  was  early  recognized 
by  the  corporation  of  Waterville  College,  w  ho  in  1841  urged 
him  to  accept  the  presidency  of  that  institution.  Brown  Uni- 
versity gave  him  the  degree  of  LL.D.  in  1853. 

C   381    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Yet  with  all  his  gifts  Professor  Chace  was  not  a  popular 
man.  His  manner  was  reserved,  almost  to  coldness,  and  in 
class  he  was  severe  and  sometimes  caustic,  although  in  his 
later  years  he  cultivated  closer  and  more  friendly  relations 
with  his  pupils.  A  man  of  deep  convictions  and  a  lifelong 
member  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  he  yet  was  disliked  by 
religious  conservatives :  to  the  zealous  he  seemed  cold  and 
to  the  rigidly  orthodox  dangerously  rationalistic,  although 
in  his  later  years,  like  his  friend  Agassiz,  he  withheld  assent 
from  the  doctrine  of  evolution .  His  supposed  theological  un- 
soundness and  the  fact  that  he  was  not  a  clergyman  were 
the  main  reasons,  it  is  said,  for  the  opposition  to  him  as  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency  of  his  Alma  Mater.  But  in  spite 
of  his  disappointment  he  remained  loyal  to  the  college,  and 
in  his  will  left  $9000  for  two  scholarships  which  bear  his 
name. 

After  resigning  his  professorship  Professor  Chace  traveled 
in  Europe  for  a  year  and  a  half,  and  upon  his  return  to 
Providence  gave  his  last  days  to  various  good  works  of  a 
semi-public  nature.  For  a  short  time  he  held  the  office  of 
alderman;  he  continued  his  trusteeship  in  Butler  Hospital 
until  1883 ;  he  was  chosen  a  trustee  of  the  Rhode  Island 
Hospital  in  1875,  and  its  president  in  1877,  remaining  in 
office  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  His  greatest  work,  however, 
was  done  as  chairman  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and 
Corrections  from  1874  to  1883:  during  these  years  the 
board  reorganized  and  administered  the  charitable,  correc- 
tive, and  penal  institutions  at  Cranston,  supervising  the 
erection  of  many  buildings,  laying  out  the  grounds,  select- 
ing officers,  and  preparing  measures  for  presentation  to  the 
legislature ;  and  in  directing  these  activities  Professor  Chace 
displayed  not  only  scientific  knowledge  but  sound  judgment 
and  rare  executive  ability.  Failing  health  forced  him  to  with- 

C   382    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

draw  from  most  of  his  offices  in  1883,  and  he  died  on  April 
29,  1885. 

The  presidency  of  Ur.  Caswell  could  in  the  nature  of 
things  be  only  temporary;  and  in  September,  1872,  ha\- 
ing  given  notice  of  his  intention  the  year  before,  he  retired. 
During  the  years  1864-67,  when  he  was  not  officially  con- 
nected with  the  college,  Dr.  Caswell  had  occupied  himself 
with  scientific  and  philanthropic  labors  and  w  ith  business, 
being  president  of  the  National  Exchange  Bank  and  the 
American  Screw  Company.  He  now  resumed  some  of  these 
occupations  and  added  others.  He  was  a  trustee  of  the  col- 
lege from  1873  to  1875,  and  a  fellow  from  1875  to  1877. 
He  continued  to  be  a  trustee  of  the  Rhode  Island  Hospital, 
which  he  had  aided  in  founding,  and  was  president  of  it 
from  1875  till  his  death.  During  his  closing  years  he  was 
an  inspector  of  the  state  prison,  and  often  conducted  religious 
service  there.  In  these  serene  labors  he  passed  the  Indian 
summer  of  his  age,  and  died  peacefully  on  January  8,  1877, 
when  he  had  nearly  finished  his  seventy-eighth  year. 

As  a  professor  Dr.  Caswell  was  of  the  older  school.  Pa- 
tient and  clear  rather  than  inspiring  as  a  teacher,  and  kindly 
indiscipline,  he  gave  his  pupils  sound  instruction  and  won 
them  by  his  geniality,  but  was  not  a  great  vitalizing  force  in 
their  lives.  Without  the  brilliancy  of  Professor  Chace  he  yet 
could  teach  well  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  and  gave  instruc- 
tion at  various  times  in  chemistry,  natural  history,  ethics, 
Butler's  Analogy^  and  constitutional  law,  besides  his  special- 
ties, mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  and  astronom}-.  He 
served  for  twenty-three  years  on  the  library  committee,  and 
in  all  the  miscellaneous  work  of  the  Faculty  Mas  exceedingly 
useful.  He  rendered  valuable  aid  to  President  Way  land 
throughout  his  administration,  assisting  him  in  executive 
work  and  giving  wise  coimsel  on  many  difficult  problems. 

C   383   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

He  was  an  efficient  solicitor  of  subscriptions,  and  raised  a 
considerable  part  of  the  library  fund  of  1831,  besides  aiding 
in  similar  movements  later. 

As  a  scientist  Dr.  Caswell  was  not  an  original  investiga- 
tor or  a  brilliant  generalizer.  He  did  not  even  confine  himself 
to  one  science,  much  less  to  one  corner  of  one  science,  al- 
though his  favorite  study  seems  to  have  been  astronomy. 
But  he  had  a  broad  and  thorough  knowledge  of  his  sub- 
jects, and  kept  up  with  their  progress.  Professor  Joseph  Lov- 
ering,  of  Harvard  University,  says  of  his  lectures  on  astron- 
omy before  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  1858,  "They 
were  of  the  highest  order  of  popular  instruction,  and,  on  that 
account,  were  thought  by  Professor  Henry  worthy  of  being 
permanently  preserved  in  his  printed  report  for  that  year." 
Professor  Lovering  adds  that,  although  no  specialist,  "he 
was  never  superficial."  Dr.  Caswell  was  elected  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  at  its  meeting  in  Providence,  in  1855;  and  when  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences  was  established  by  Congress, 
in  1863,  he  was  named  as  one  of  the  fifty  incorporators. 
His  publications  include  articles  in  The  Chiistian  Review 
and  The  North  Americcm  Reviexv^2ind  "Meteorological  Reg- 
ister; Providence,  R.I.,"  from  December,  1831,  to  May, 
1860,  in  the  publications  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
1860,  filling  179  pages.  Dr.  Caswell  continued  these  obser- 
vations to  the  end  of  1876. 

The  central  quality  in  President  Caswell's  character  was 
serenity.  "  Dr  Caswell  is  universally  known  to  be  a  man  of 
imperturbable  good  nature,"  wrote  President  Wayland,  in 
1852,  to  an  irate  parent.  "I  have  known  him,  intimately 
for  more  than  twentyfive  years,  and  I  never  have  heard  him 
utter  an  unkind  or  even  a  hasty  expression.  He  never  told 
your  son  that  he  was  a  Har,  but  he  did  tell  him,  that  he 

C   384   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

found  great  difficulty  in  believeing  the  account  which  he 
had  given."  Yet  he  did  not  lack  moral  courage:  in  1868  he 
resolutely  opposed  a  motion  in  the  Warren  Baptist  Associa- 
tion condemning  Baptists  nho  practiced  open  communion, 
although  he  himself  believed  in  close  communion  as  the 
usage  of  the  apostles;  and  when  attacked  by  a  leading  new  s- 
paper  of  the  denomination,  he  stoutly  held  his  ground.  "In- 
flexible in  his  own  peculiar  theology,"  says  Professor  Lov- 
ering,  "he  had  no  taint  of  illiberality  in  his  intellect  or  his 
heart.  .  .  .  There  was  no  austerity  in  his  goodness;  hence 
it  attracted  those  who  could  not  have  been  driven.  .  .  .  And 
behold  the  end  of  such  a  man:  it  is  all  honor,  and  affection, 
and  peace.  The  press,  the  university,  the  church,  and  the 
State,  have  borne  witness  to  the  excellence  of  his  character 
and  the  usefulness  of  his  life." 


C   385   ] 


CHAPTER  X 
PRESIDENT  ROBINSON'S  ADMINISTRATION 

NEW    BUILDINGS  :   GROWTH     OF     THE     FUNDS  :   ENLARGEMENT    OF    THE 

ELECTIVE   SYSTEM  :  GRADUATE   STUDY  :  THE   PROBLEM    OF  ATHLETICS  : 

THE  PRESIDENT  AS   DISCIPLINARIAN   AND  TEACHER 

WHEN  President  Caswell  resigned  his  office,  the  ma- 
jority of  the  Corporation  turned  again  to  Ezekiel  G. 
Robinson,  and  on  January  24,  1872,  "duly"  though  not 
unanimously  elected  him  president  of  the  university  and 
professor  of  moral  and  intellectual  philosophy.  With  some 
reluctance  he  accepted,  on  February  20,  in  a  characteristic 
letter  expressing  his  purpose  to  administer  the  affairs  of  the 
college  "in  the  broad  &  catholic  spirit  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion &  of  its  immutable  morality,"  and  the  following  Sep- 
tember he  entered  upon  his  new  duties. 

President  Robinson  was  born  March  23,  1815,  in  South 
Attleboro,  Massachusetts,  on  a  farm  that  had  been  held  by 
his  ancestors  since  it  was  bought  of  the  Indians.  His  father, 
successively  a  farmer,  innkeeper,  and  sheriff,  died  when 
the  boy  was  four  and  a  half  years  old ;  his  mother  returned 
with  her  family  to  the  farm,  where  the  outdoor  life,  he  says, 
"nurtured  a  naturally  weak  constitution  into  a  strength  that 
has  since  been  equal  to  many  a  year  of  mental  strain."  He 
had  poor  teaching  in  various  schools,  and  entered  Brown 
University  in  1834  with  inadequate  preparation.  He  gradu- 
ated in  the  middle  of  his  class,  delivering  a  philosophical  dis- 
cussion, one  of  the  minor  honors, on  "The  value  of  Meta- 
physical Speculations."  "I  had  drifted  aimlessly  into  col- 
lege," he  writes,  "and  drifted  aimlessly  through  it,  waking 
up  only  during  the  last  year  to  see  what  I  might  and  ought 
to  have  done. ' '  After  a  half-year  of  graduate  study  in  Brown 

C   386   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

University,  he  entered  Newton  Theological  Institution  in 
1839,  and  graduated  there  in  1842,  For  the  next  three  years 
he  was  pastor  of  a  Baptist  church  in  Norfolk,  Virginia, 
serving  one  year  as  chaplain  to  the  University  of  Virginia. 
After  a  year's  pastorate  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  he 
became  professor  of  Hebrew  in  a  theological  seminary  in 
Covington,  Kentucky;  a  dispute  over  slavery  broke  up  the 
institution  in  1848,  and  he  took  a  church  in  Cincinnati, 
where  he  gained  fame  as  a  preacher.  In  1853  he  was  called 
to  Rochester  Theological  Seminary  as  professor  of  biblical 
theology,  a  position  \\hich  he  held  until  1872,  ser\ing  also 
as  president  after  1860.  Brown  Uni\ersity  ga\'e  him  the 
degree  of  D.D.  in  1853,  and  of  LL.D.in  1872;  Harvard 
University  also  conferred  the  latter  degree  on  him  in  1886. 
When  Dr.  Robinson  came  to  Providence  in  1872,  driv- 
ing his  span  of  spirited  horses  across  coimtry  from  Roches- 
ter, he  was  in  his  fift3'-eighth  year,  his  thin  hair  prema- 
turely white,  but  his  tall  spare  figure  as  erect  and  active  as 
ever.  The  impatient  energy  of  the  man  spoke  out  through 
his  prominent  features  and  penetrating  eye,  his  rapid  stride, 
and  his  speech  and  manner,  brusque  at  times  to  the  verge 
of  rudeness.  He  was  neither  a  man  of  affairs  nor  a  scholar 
of  wide  culture.  His  long  residence  in  other  parts  of  the 
country  had  put  him  somewhat  out  of  touch  and  a  good 
deal  out  of  patience  with  New  England  conservatism,  and, 
having  more  force  than  tact,  he  was  likely  to  cut  against 
the  grain.  His  very  success  in  his  former  field,  combined 
with  certain  infirmities  of  temper,  made  it  harder  for  him 
to  adapt  himself  to  new  conditions  and  conciliate  Mhere 
he  could  not  command.  "The  iron  man"  he  was  called  in 
undergraduate  days,  it  is  said ;  and  as  president  he  had  both 
the  strength  and  the  flaws  of  that  inflexible  metal.  Yet  so 
keen  and  so  true  was  his  vision  of  what  Brown  University 

C    387   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ought  to  be  that  his  unbending  will  urged  him  forward  in 
the  right  direction ;  he  did  a  great  work  in  the  seventeen 
years  of  his  presidency,  and  prepared  the  way  for  things 
yet  greater. 

In  his  racy  and  outspoken  autobiography,  dictated  in 
the  last  year  of  his  life,  Dr.  Robinson  thus  describes  the 
situation  vv^hen  he  became  president :  ' '  We  were  stifled 
and  cramped  for  lack  of  buildings,  and  I  was  ashamed  of  the 
narrow  range  of  studies  open  to  our  students,  particularly 
in  the  Natural  Sciences  and  in  Modern  Languages.  The 
necessity  was  inexorable  that  we  should  strike  at  once  for 
a  widened  curriculum  and  for  new  buildings."  At  a  later 
point  he  adds:  "The  introduction  of  new  departments  of 
study  and  of  new  professors  made  necessary  a  readjustment 
of  studies  and  a  multiplication  of  electives.  Naturally  there 
was  a  jostling  of  old  hereditary  prejudices  in  behalf  of 
certain  studies  which  from  time  immemorial  had  taken 
precedence  of  all  others.  But  science  then  got  a  foothold  in 
the  curriculum  which  it  is  never  likely  to  lose."  These  sen- 
tences mark  the  large  outlines  of  his  policy  throughout  his 
administration. 

In  connection  with  his  plans  for  adding  to  the  college 
buildings  President  Robinson  was  spared  the  consideration 
of  a  change  of  site.  This  question  had  been  raised  by  Presi- 
dent Wayland  in  a  report  at  the  end  of  his  first  year  of  office, 
as  appears  from  an  entry  in  the  Corporation  records  of  Sep- 
tember 6,  1827,  to  the  effect  that  "so  much  of  said  Report 
as  relates  to  the  removal  of  the  Institution  to  another  place ' ' 
was  referred  to  a  committee.  The  committee  seems  to  have 
practiced  a  masterly  inactivity,  for  the  matter  does  not  come 
up  in  the  records  again  until  1872,  when,  on  July  15,  the 
Advisory  and  Executive  Committee  adopted  the  following 
preamble  and  resolution  : ' '  Whereas  at  the  late  annual  com- 

C   388   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

mence [ment]  dinner  of  Brown  University  the  Hon  Benj. 
F.Thurston  announced  a  proposition  from  the  Hon.W'^m. 
Sprague  for  the  presentation  of  a  tract  of  ten  acres  of  land 
for  a  new  site  for  the  University  in  case  it  sliould  elect  to 
change  its  location,  Therefore  Resolved  that  Rev.  Dr  Cas- 
well President,  Hon.  Wm.  S.  Patten  Chancellor  and  Mar- 
shall Woods  AM.  Treasurer,  be  a  Committee  to  confer 
with  the  Hon  Wm  Sprag[u]e  upon  the  subject  of  that 
proposition."  On  September  3  President  Caswell  reported 
that  Mr.  Sprague  "had  not  found  time  to  give  special  at- 
tention to  the  subject."  He  also  said  that  gendemen  in  East 
Providence,  Cranston,  and  Newport  had  made  offers  of  land, 
and  that  sites  on  Doyle  Avenue  and  Buder  Avenue  had  been 
suggested  to  him.  No  offers  for  the  existing  site  having  been 
received,  the  committe  requested  President  Caswell  to  report 
to  the  Corporation  on  the  morrow  that  "  it  is  not  expedient, 
at  the  present  time  to  take  any  action  upon  the  subject." 

The  panic  of  1873  made  it  doubly  difficult  to  raise  money 
for  educational  purposes,  and  President  Robinson's  move- 
ment for  better  housing  went  slowly  for  some  years.  The 
first  building  was  a  two-story  addition  to  Rhode  Island  Hall 
on  the  east  side,  chiefly  to  provide  rooms  for  the  department 
of  physics.  How  urgent  Avas  the  need  is  shown  by  Dr.  Rob- 
inson in  his  autobiography :  "The  professor  of  Physics  had 
no  laboratory;  the  damp,  dark  basement  rooms  of  Rhode  Is- 
land Hall  .  .  .  could  be  occupied  by  him  only  at  the  risk  of 
his  health  and  life."  The  work,  which  cost  nearly  $9000, 
was  completed  shordy  before  the  end  of  1874,  and  the  added 
rooms  afforded  excellent  quarters  for  the  department  of 
physics,  besides  providing  a  well-lighted  portrait  gallery  and 
more  space  for  the  ever-growing  natural  history  museum. 

The  university  library  had  also  been  growing :  the  num- 
ber of  volumes  was  24,000  in  1850,  29,000  in  1860,  and 

[   389   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

38,000  in  1870,  besides  many  unbound  pamphlets.  Most 
of  the  special  collections  which  now  distinguish  it  had  not 
then  been  received,  but  it  contained  many  rare  works,  be- 
sides a  good  assortment  of  standard  books  for  general  use. 
The  need  of  a  new  library  building  is  stated  vividly  by  Dr. 
Robinson  :  ' '  The  library  was  cro\\  ded  into  the  dark  room 
on  the  first  floor  of  the  chapel  building,  and  was  so  crammed 
with  books,  two  or  three  feet  deep  on  the  shelves,  that  only 
the  librarian  could  find  what  was  wanted."  The  need  had 
been  foreseen  long  before,  and  the  feeling  that  something 
must  be  done  had  been  growing  stronger  for  years.  Presi- 
dent Wayland,  in  a  report  to  the  Executive  Board  in  1853, 
had  said  that  "the  erection  of  another  Library  building 
will  soon  become  indispensable."  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed at  the  end  of  President  Sears's  first  year,  to  report 
' '  the  best  plan  of  a  Fire  Proof  Building  for  the  Library ' '  and 
ways  and  means  for  securing  it.  In  1868  President  Chace 
declared  that  ' '  the  Library  has  quite  outgrown  its  accom- 
modations," and  that  "a  suitable  and  fireproof  building 
of  sufficient  capacity  ...  is  becoming  every  year  a  mat- 
ter of  more  urgent  necessity."  During  the  academic  year 
1869-70  John  Carter  Brown  paid  into  the  treasury  the  sum 
of  $15,000  toward  the  erection  of  such  a  building,  and  in 
1871  the  Corporation  appointed  a  committee  to  take  the 
matter  into  consideration. 

So  matters  stood  until  1874.  In  June  of  that  year  occurred 
the  death  of  John  Carter  Brown,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven. 
Inheriting  the  spirit  w  ith  the  fortune  of  his  father,  he  had 
been  a  lifelong  friend  and  patron  of  the  college,  serving  on 
its  Corporation  for  forty-six  years  and  contributing  to  it 
liberally  of  his  time  and  his  wealth.  From  early  manhood 
he  had  taken  a  special  interest  in  books;  he  had  been  form- 
ing through  years  the  famous  collection  of  Americana  which 

C   390  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

now  bears  his  name,  and  he  had  gi\  en  tliousands  of  vokinies 
to  tlie  college  library.  It  was  therefore  no  surprise  to  the 
friends  of  the  university  ^\  hen  thev  learned  that  he  had 
bequeathed  to  it  a  site  for  a  library  building,  at  the  corner 
of  Prospect  and  Waterman  Streets,  and  $50,000  for  the 
building  itself.  These  gifts,  in  addition  to  his  former  gift  of 
$15,000,  now  grown  to  over  $20,000,  made  it  possible  to 
proceed  at  once  \\  ith  the  erection  of  the  building  w  hich 
had  been  so  long  needed.  The  foundations  were  laid  in  the 
summer  of  1875,  and  the  structure  was  dedicated  on  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1878.  The  total  cost  was  $95,588,  the  widow  of 
Mr.  Brown  paying  the  excess  o^'er  ^\^hl\i  he  had  given.  The 
building,  Venetian  Gothic  in  style,  was  cruciform,  \\ith 
very  short  arms,  the  extreme  dimensions  being  ninety-six 
by  eighty-six  feet.  The  walls  were  brick,  with  stone  trim- 
mings;  the  roof  was  of  iron,  covered  \\ith  slates;  no  wood 
was  used  except  for  shelves  and  other  finishings.  In  the  cen- 
ter was  a  large  octagonal  reading-room  lighted  by  windo^^■s 
in  the  cupola-like  roof;  from  this  center  radiated  the  alcoves, 
in  three  stories,  with  estimated  shelf-capacity  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  books.  The  new  library  was  at  first 
open  from  10  to  3  every  week  day  but  Saturday,  when  it 
closed  at  noon ;  during  vacations  it  was  open  only  on  Sat- 
urday. In  1882  the  time  was  extended  one  hour  a  day,  and 
so  remained  to  the  end  of  Dr.  Robinson's  administration. 
A  card-catalogue  was  begun  in  1878. 

Although  the  library  now  had  fitting  quarters,  it  was  not 
adequately  endowed  ;  but  the  only  considerable  addition  to 
its  funds  at  this  period  \\as  the  Stephen  T.  Olney  bequest 
of  $10,000,  received  in  1880-81,  for  the  purchase  of  bo- 
tanical works.  In  1885-86,  however,  the  library  was  en- 
riched by  a  special  collection  of  great  value,  the  Harris  Col- 
lection of  American  Poetry,  begun  by  Albert  G.  Greene,  of 

C   391    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  class  of  1820,  much  enlarged  by  C.  Fiske  Harris,  and 
still  further  increased  by  the  Hon.  Henry  B.  Anthony,  of  the 
class  of  1833,  who  in  1884  bequeathed  it  to  the  university ; 
it  contained  some  6000  volumes,  many  of  them  Aery  rare. 
While  the  new  Hbrary  building  was  going  up,  better  quar- 
ters for  the  students  were  also  begun.  Not  even  The  Bru- 
nonian  could  condemn  th€  condition  of  the  dormitories  more 
vigorously  than  did  Dr.  Robinson.  Of  University  Hall  he 
said, ' '  Its  battered  doors,  its  defaced  walls,  the  gaping  floor- 
ing of  its  hall-ways,  and  the  unmistakable  odor  of  decay  per- 
vading the  building,  made  parents  who  came  to  select  rooms 
for  their  sons,  turn  from  the  premises  with  ill-concealed 
disgust."  "The  other  dormitory, "he  added,  "erected  in 
1822,  had  inside  and  out  fewer  marks  of  age,  but  was  only 
a  little  less  uninviting  than  the  older  building.  The  entries 
and  stairM^ays  of  the  dormitories  had  never  been  lighted  at 
night;  the  students  groped  their  way  up  and  down  as  best 
they  could."  The  President  early  set  his  heart  on  renovat- 
ing University  Hall.  But  he  thought  it  necessary  to  erect  an 
additional  dormitory  first,  and  for  this  purpose  a  fund  was 
now  available.  When  Dr.  Robinson  had  been  weighing  the 
question  of  accepting  the  presidency,  Horatio  N.  Slater,  the 
tried  friend  of  the  university  for  many  years,  had  promised  to 
give  $25,000  if  he  would  come ;  this  money,  with  accumu- 
lated interest,  Mr.  Slater  consented  to  have  used  for  a  new 
dormitory.  A  site  was  chosen,  the  south  end  of  the  middle 
campus,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1877  the  cellar  was  dug  and 
the  foundation  partly  laid,  when  suddenly  protests  began. 
The  site  was  objected  to  because  the  view  across  the  mid- 
dle campus  would  be  obstructed  by  the  new  building;  as 
"A  Tax-Payer"  said,  in  a  letter  to  The  Providence  Journal 
of  November  1 7,  it  was  a  matter  of  surprise  and  regret  "that 
grounds  upon  which  so  many  are  accustomed  to  gaze  while 

[   392    3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

taking  their  daily  walks  are  to  be  disfigured  by  tiie  march 
of  CAents."  A  petition  signed  by  many  of  the  most  wealth v 
and  influential  men  in  the  city  A\as  presented  to  President 
Robinson  ;  he  poured  oil  on  the  flames  by  publishing  an  iron- 
ical rejoinder,  and  the  furnace  was  heated  seven  times  hot- 
ter. The  building  committee  finally  gave  way,  and  erected 
a  smaller  dormitory  in  the  rather  narrow  space  between  Uni- 
versity Hall  and  Rhode  Island  Hall.  Slater  Hall,  so  named 
from  the  donor  of  the  fund,  was  completed  in  the  autumn 
of  1879;  and  being  attractively  finished  in  modern  style, 
it  at  once  became  popular  A\ith  students  of  means. 

The  renovation  of  University  Hall  was  still  delayed  for 
lack  of  funds.  Meanwhile  other  needs  which  President  Rob- 
inson had  long  been  pressing  upon  the  attention  of  the  Cor- 
poration and  the  public  —  additional  and  better  recitation 
rooms,  and  a  hall  large  enough  to  hold  Commencement  din- 
ners in — were  supplied  by  the  Hon.  William  F.  Sayles, 
whose  purpose  is  expressed  in  a  letter  to  President  Robin- 
son on  June  14,  1878  : 

For  a  long  time  I  have  had  under  consideration  (as  vou  are  aware 
fi-om  my  repeated  con^•ersations  with  ^•ou  and  m}'  fi-iend,  Professor 
Lincoln,  upon  the  subject)  the  propriety  of  offering  to  Brown  Uni- 
versity' a  sum  of  money,  for  the  erection  of  a  building,  as  a  memorial 
to  my  dear  son,  William  Clark  Sayles,  who  died  February  13th,  1876. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a  member  of  the  class  of  '78,  now 
about  to  graduate.  The  thought  of  the  project  indicated  has  been 
cherished,  because  of  the  strong  attachment  of  m^•  dear  son  to  the 
Universit}^,  and  his  and  my  own  appreciation  of  the  higher  education 
which  it  affords;  and  I  ha\'e  therefore  concluded  to  propose  to  give 
to  the  Uni^'ersity  fift\'  thousand  dollars  for  the  erection  of  a  build- 
ing, containing  rooms  and  a  hall,  which  shall  be  exclusiveh'  and  for- 
ever devoted  to  lectures  and  recitations,  and  to  meetings  on  academic 
occasions.  ...  I  have  selected  this  Commencement,  when  n\y  dear  son, 
if  living,  would  have  graduated,  for  the  expression  of  what  I  hope  will 
be  regarded  with  favor,  in  order  that  when  his  classmates  are  confer- 

[    S93    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ring  credit  on  their  Alma  Mater  his  brief  life  may  also  not  be  with- 
out a  beneficial  influence  on  the  institution  he  loved  so  well. 

Sayles  Hall  was  begun  in  the  summer  of  1879,  and  com- 
pleted two  years  later,  the  dedication  occurring  on  June  4, 
1881.  The  material  was  reddish  granite,  with  trimmings 
of  brown  sandstone. ' '  The  style  of  the  building, ' '  said  Pro- 
fessor Lincoln  at  the  dedication,  "is,  in  its  main  features, 
of  the  Romanesque  type;  so  judiciously  treated,  however, 
by  the  omission  of  all  excessive  ornament,  that  it  impresses 
you  Avith  the  noble  simplicity  and  serene  repose  which  be- 
long to  the  old  Roman  style."  On  the  front  was  carved  the 
simple  inscription,  by  Professor  Lincoln,  "Filio  Pater  Po- 
suiT."  The  hall,  105  feetby  50,  has  been  invaluable  for  Com- 
mencement dinners  and  various  other  gatherings,  and  of  late 
years  for  chapel  exercises  and  examinations;  the  eight  class- 
rooms have  also  been  of  great  use.  The  entire  cost  of  the 
structure  was  borne  by  Mr.  Sayles,  and  has  never  been  made 
known,  but  it  far  exceeded  the  original  estimate  of  $50,000. 
The  erection  of  Sayles  Hall  was  the  indirect  cause  of  two 
other  improvements.  The  portraits  were  transferred  to  its 
auditorium,  which  formed  a  noble  gallery,  and  a  large  room 
in  Rhode  Island  Hall  thus  became  available  for  the  grow- 
ing work  in  natural  science.  Extensive  alterations  were  also 
made  in  the  grounds.  "To  the  lasting  credit  of  Mr.  Sayles  be 
it  said,"  writes  Dr.  Robinson,  "that,  when  the  site  for  the 
Hall  was  selected,  he  foresaw  the  necessity  of  regrading  the 
middle  campus  on  which  it  was  to  front,  and  in  his  own 
mind  he  determined  it  should  be  done.  Till  then  it  had  pre- 
sented to  the  eye  on  its  northern  side,  toward  Waterman 
Street,  an  ungrassed  and  unsightly  bank,  and  over  the  whole 
area  its  uneven  surface  reminded  one  of  the  recent  days 
when  it  had  been  used  as  a  cow-pasture.  On  the  completion 
of  the  building,  Mr.  Sayles  insisted  that  the  campus  should 

C   394  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

then  be  graded  and  put  in  order.  The  result  was  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  spots  in  the  city  of  Providence."  At  the 
same  time  the  grading  of  the  front  campus  was  improved, 
and  the  whole  was  seeded  w  ith  lawn  grass.  "While  in  the 
humor  of  grading  the  middle  campus, ' '  adds  the  President, 
"it  occurred  to  some  of  us  that,  by  the  requisite  grading 
and  filling  up  of  an  unsightl}-  swamp-hole,  the  eastern  slope 
and  terminus  of  the  college  land  on  Thayer  Street  could  be 
transformed  into  much  needed  ball-grounds.  .  .  .  One  man 
only  in  the  Faculty,  Professor  S.  S.  Greene,  felt  interest 
enough  in  the  matter  to  give  himself  and  his  time  to  raising 
the  money  and  superintending  the  work.  Quiedy,  and  with- 
out words,  he  took  the  work  in  hand,  and  persisted  in  it  till 
the  task  was  completed." 

"There  still  remained,"  says  Dr.  Robinson,  "  the  old 
University  Hall,  both  within  and  without  an  eyesore  and 
a  reproach.  The  grave  question  was,  What  should  be  done 
with  it?  The  loud  demand  of  many  friends  of  the  College 
was  to  \e\e\  it  to  the  ground,  and  to  put  up  a  modern  struc- 
ture in  its  place.  A  few  of  us  were  equally  earnest  in  insist- 
ing that  the  old  walls  should  stand,  and  the  interior  be  entirely 
renewed.  Minutest  inspection  could  disco^•er  not  so  much 
as  the  sign  of  a  crack  in  its  walls."  Renovation  was  de- 
cided upon,  and  the  necessary  sum,  about  $50,000,  ^\"as 
raised  by  subscription.  In  April,  1883,  the  work  of  tearing 
out  the  interior  began,  the  students  removing  to  other  dor- 
mitories or  to  private  houses,  and  the  reconstruction  was 
completed  bv  the  autumn.  The  final  report  of  the  committee 
in  charge  shows  the  nature  of  the  changes : 

The  walls,  with  the  openings  for  the  windows  and  dooi-s,  remain  as 
of  old,  while  everything  within  the  walls  and  the  roof  has  been  actu- 
all)'  renovated  hv  the  use  of  new  material.  The  jirincipal  change  in 
the  plans  of  the  interior  is  in  taking  away  fi-om  the  hallwa}-,  which 

C   395   H 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  old  ran  the  whole  length  of  the  building,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
that  portion  of  it  which  ran  through  the  centre  of  the  building,  thirty- 
three  feet  in  length,  and  using  this  space  in  the  public  rooms.  ...  In 
the  centre  of  the  building  the  plan  of  the  old  chapel  with  its  gallery 
is  retained,  widened  by  taking  in  half  the  old  hallway.  On  the  oppo- 
site side  [the  eastern]  that  which  was  of  old  Commons  Hall  ...  is 
changed  into  a  room  similar  to  the  chapel,  with  a  gallel•}^  Both  rooms 
are  found  useful  for  lectures  and  recitations,  and  meetings  of  students. 
. . .  There  are  no  longer  apartments  for  a  steward's  family  in  the  build- 
ing. .  .  .  The  whole  building  is  heated  by  steam,  though  in  tvventy- 
se\'en  rooms  there  are  also  fire-places.  .  .  .  The  building  is  lighted 
by  gas.  Water  is  carried  through  the  building,  with  bath-rooms  and 
closets  in  the  basement.  The  stucco  upon  the  outside  walls  of  the  build- 
ing, put  upon  the  brick  nearly  fift)'  years  ago,  was  found  so  perfect  that 
it  was  not  removed,  but  again  painted  of  a  neutral  olive  tint,  so  that 
the  building  stands  externally  the  same,  except  slight  changes  in  the 
color  and  windows. 

The  two  large  rooms  with  galleries  were  designed  by  Presi- 
dent Robinson  to  stimulate  a  revival  of  the  debating  socie- 
ties, to  whose  influence  he  himself  had  owed  so  much  as  an 
undergraduate. 

One  more  building,  the  new  physics  laboratory,  was  begun 
during  this  administration.  It  received  the  name  Wilson 
Hall  in  memory  of  George  F.  Wilson,  who  at  his  death  in 
1883  left  the  university  $100,000  to  promote  the  study  of 
natural  science.  The  bequest  was  not  received  until  1887, 
and  circumstances  caused  further  delay  in  beginning  the 
work  of  construction ;  but  Dr.  Robinson  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  the  walls  part  way  up  when  he  resigned  his 
office.  The  money  for  two  other  buildings  was  secured,  al- 
though they  were  not  erected  until  later.  Daniel  W.  Lyman 
bequeathed  the  uni^'ersity  $50,000  in  1887  for  some  build- 
ing to  be  known  as  the  L.yman  Memorial ;  this  gift,  with 
other  contributions,  built  the  Lyman  Gymnasium.  At  the 
Commencement  dinner   in    1889,   Governor  Herbert  W. 

C   396  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Ladd,  who  sat  beside  the  President,  authorized  him  to  an- 
nounce to  the  akimni  that  he  would  erect  an  astronomical 
observatory  at  a  cost  of  $20,000.  "This  ended  my  efforts," 
wrote  President  Robinson,  "to  provide  the  Universit}-  w  ith 
its  necessary  buildings. ' '  It  was  a  w  ork  of  \\  hich  any  college 
president  might  be  proud,  for  it  made  possible  still  further 
extension  of  the  work  of  instruction.  It  is  only  to  be  regretted 
that,  although  each  of  the  new  buildings  was  indi\  idually 
a  fine  structure,  the  taste  of  the  day  did  not  insist  upon  more 
harmony  in  the  total  effect. 

The  funds  of  the  uni\ersity  increased  under  this  ad- 
ministration from  $602,000  to  $1,000,000,  a  clear  gain 
of  almost  $400,000,  besides  about  $200,000  expended  in 
erecting  new  buildings,  extending  or  renovating  old  ones, 
and  improving  the  college  grounds. 

In  his  second  main  line  of  policy,  the  enlargement  of  the 
curriculum,  especially  in  the  sciences,  President  Robinson 
was  the  educational  successor  to  President  Wayland,  \\  ith 
the  advantage  of  living  in  a  time  that  was  more  ripe  to 
receive  and  respond  to  his  views.  His  first  annual  report 
contained  this  admirable  statement  of  the  case : 

Adequate  as  the  College  may  have  been  to  the  wants  of  the  past,  it 
manifestlv  is  not  equal  to  the  needs  of  to-day.  .  .  .  That  in  a  commu- 
nity like  ours,  which  in  some  sense  is  a  centre  of  manufactui'es  for  a 
population  of  millions  if  not  for  our  whole  countrv,  liberal  provision 
should  be  made  for  instruction  in  the  applications  of  science  to  the 
mechanic  arts  is  too  e\'ident  to  need  discussion.  .  .  .  Unless  I  am  mis- 
informed, a  large  number  of  the  intelligent  citizens  of  our  state  are  now 
desirous  that  a  Scientific  School  of  high  order, —  a  School  which, 
in  addition  to  its  more  immediate  aims,  shall  not  fail  to  pro\ide  also 
for  sub-schools  of  Design,  of  Drawing,  of  Ci\il  Engineering,  of  Ar- 
chitecture, of  the  Fine  Arts,  etc. — may  speedily  be  established  in 
Rhode  Island,  and  if  possible  mav  be  established  in  conjunction  with, 
and  in  a  sense,  as  a  part  of  Brown  Uni\ersity. 

C   397   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

He  was  unable  to  carry  out  this  plan  in  its  entirety,  and 
indeed  it  is  still  unrealized ;  but  he  made  some  advance 
toward  it.  In  addition  to  the  enlarged  laboratory  facilities  al- 
ready described,  se\eral  new  professorships  in  the  sciences 
were  created.  Dr.  Charles  W.  Parsons,  lecturer  in  physi- 
ology from  1867  to  1870,  was  appointed  professor  of  that 
subject  in  1874,  and  retained  the  office  until  1882,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Charles  V.  Chapin  as  instructor, 
who  became  professor  in  1886.  In  1875  the  curator  of  the 
museum  of  natural  history,  J.  W.  P.  Jenks,  who  had  also 
been  lecturer  in  agriculture,  was  promoted  to  be  professor 
of  agricultural  zoology,  and  remained  in  that  position  until 
1894.  In  1877  William  W.  Bailey  was  appointed  instructor 
in  botany;  and  in  1881  he  became  the  first  holder  of  the 
professorship  of  natural  history  (including  botany),  which 
had  recently  been  founded  by  the  bequest  of  $25,000  from 
the  estate  of  Stephen  T.  Olney.  At  about  the  same  time 
valuable  herbaria  were  received  from  the  executors  of  Mr. 
Olney,  and  from  Professor  Bailey  and  James  L.  Bennett. 
A  tract  of  thirteen  acres  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city, 
the  homestead  of  Whiting  Metcalf,  was  given  to  the  uni- 
versity in  1884  by  his  widow  for  use  as  a  botanical  garden. 
In  1877  a  professorship  of  geology  was  established;  and 
in  the  following  year  Alpheus  S.  Packard,  soon  to  become 
one  of  the  foremost  men  of  science  in  the  United  States, 
was  made  professor  of  zoology  and  geology.  Upon  the  death 
of  Professor  Greene,  in  1883,  astronomy,  with  logic,  became 
a  separate  department,  and  a  highly  trained  astronomer, 
Winslow  Upton,  was  appointed  professor.  The  establish- 
ment of  the  new  departments  was  justified  by  the  demand 
for  instruction  in  them;  indeed,  their  limited  facilities  for  lab- 
oratory work  were  in  most  cases  soon  outgrown,  and  even 
the  chemical  laboratory  was  taxed  to  its  utmost  capacity. 

C   398   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

In  the  department  of  civil  engineering  similar  conditions 
prevailed.  As  early  as  1872  Professor  Clarke,  with  the  calm 
foresight  characteristic  of  him,  wrote  in  his  annual  report: 
"  The  public  demand  for  the  instruction  in  this  department 
is  greater  than  the  college  can  at  present  supply.  .  .  .  The 
University  then  must  soon  decide  the  not  unimportant  (jues- 
tion,  whether  its  course  of  study  shall  be  so  enlarged  as  to 
meet  this  public  demand  or  allow  an  institution  to  be  planted 
by  its  side  which  must  eventually  supplant  its  Scientific  De- 
partment." Without  ample  funds  little  could  be  done,  how- 
ever, and  the  department  therefore  made  slow  progress  for 
many  years.  A  fourth  year  of  instruction  was  added  in  1 878, 
and  was  considerably  expanded  in  1885.  The  number  of 
students  continued  to  increase ;  forty-three  were  connected 
with  the  department  in  1881-82,  of  \vhom  fourteen  were 
candidates  for  the  degree  of  A.B. ,  and  the  rest  for  the  degree 
of  Ph.B. ,  as  the  degree  of  C.E.  was  not  yet  given  bv  Brown 
University.  The  vitality  of  the  department  under  adverse 
conditions  was  considerably  due  to  the  energetic  labors  of 
two  younger  members  of  the  Faculty,  Nathaniel  F.  Davis, 
instructor  in  1874,  assistant  professor  in  1879,  and  Otis  E. 
Randall,  instructor  in  1885. 

The  needs  of  other  departments  of  instruction  meanwhile 
had  not  been  overlooked.  In  his  second  annual  report  Dr. 
Robinson  urged  the  strengthening  of  the  work  in  modern 
languages,  of  which  there  had  been  no  professor  since  1860, 
French  and  German  being  taught  by  instructors  or  by  pro- 
fessors of  other  subjects.  In  1876  Alonzo  Williams  Mas  ap- 
pointed professor  of  modern  languages,  and  began  at  once 
to  develop  the  department.  French,  which  since  1856  could 
not  be  taken  before  the  sophomore  year  in  the  Bachelor 
of  Arts  course,  was  at  once  given  a  place  among  freshman 
studies,  although  two  hours  a  week  were  all  that  could  be 

C   399   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

spared  for  it  until  1889;  German,  which  for  many  years 
had  been  very  ably  taught  by  Professor  Lincoln  as  a  senior 
study,  was  opened  as  a  junior  elective  in  1877;  short  courses 
in  Italian  and  Spanish  were  offered  to  seniors  in  1885.  With 
the  appointment  of  an  instructor  in  1884,  the  courses  in 
French  and  German  began  to  be  extended,  until  in  1888 
French  could  be  studied  through  the  first  half  of  the  junior 
year,  and  German  through  the  last  three  years. 

Himself  a  master  of  extempore  speech.  President  Robin- 
son naturally  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  teaching  of  Eng- 
lish. Again  and  again  in  his  annual  reports  he  urged  upon 
the  Corporation  the  fundamental  importance  of  this  study 
and  the  necessity  of  improving  and  v.idening  the  instruc- 
tion in  it  by  appointing  additional  teachers.  In  1883,  when 
the  need  had  been  accentuated  by  the  illness  of  Professor 
Bancroft  from  overwork,  the  President  recommended  that 
"at  no  distant  day ' '  the  duties  of  his  department  be  di- 
vided between  a  professor  of  rhetoric  and  a  professor  of 
English  literature.  "Of  nothing  am  I  more  thoroughly  con- 
vinced,' '  he  wrote, ' '  than  that  the  most  radical  defect  to-day 
in  our  American  colleges  is  a  want  of  due  attention  to  rhetor- 
ical studies,  understanding  by  these  studies  not  only  prac- 
tice in  the  arts  of  composition  and  of  speech,  the  patient 
acquisition  of  power  to  think  justly,  and  to  express  one's 
thoughts  accurately,  but  also  the  acquisition  of  that  correct- 
ness of  literary  taste,  that  knowledge  of  English  Hterature 
and  that  appreciation  of  its  riches,  without  which  facility 
and  skill  in  the  use  of  our  tongue  are  never  attainable. ' '  If 
the  President  had  had  his  wish,  he  would  thus  have  anti- 
cipated by  some  years  the  great  development  of  English 
studies  which  was  soon  to  come  in  all  American  colleges. 
As  it  was,  the  overburdened  professor  had  to  struggle  along 
unaided  until  1886,  when  an  instructor  was  appointed  who 

[   400    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

divided  his  time  between  rhetoric  and  modern  languages. 
The  teaching  of  composition,  now  the  Old  Man  of  the  Sea 
to  all  English  departments,  had  not  then  quite  the  same 
strangling  clutch;  yet  Professor  Bancroft's  reports  show  that 
he  had  to  read  and  correct  about  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  essays  and  orations  monthly,  some  of  considerable 
length,  in  addition  to  all  his  class-room  work  in  rhetoric  and 
literature.  He  did  his  best,  ne^'ertheless,  to  meet  the  grow- 
ing demand  for  instruction  in  English.  When  the  course  in 
English  literature  was  extended,  in  1874,  from  half  a  year 
to  a  year,  he  added  a  study  of  individual  authors  to  the  sur- 
vey of  the  history  of  the  literature;  after  1880  he  offered  an 
elective  in  literature  in  the  second  half  of  the  senior  year; 
and  in  1887-89  he  taught  a  voluntary  class  in'Old  Eng- 
lish. No  man  could  have  done  more ;  and  he,  at  least,  ought 
not  to  have  done  so  much. 

While  the  curriculum  was  thus  widening,  the  standards 
for  admission  and  for  degrees  became  more  severe.  In  1875 
French  grammar  and  English  composition  were  added  to 
the  subjects  required  for  admission.  The  requirement  in 
French  during  this  administration  never  included  more  than 
a  knowledge  of  the  grammar  and  a  few  reading  lessons.  The 
English  requirement,  however,  passed  through  a  period  of 
rapid  development :  the  study  of  literature  was  introduced 
in  1876,  although  it  was  then  confined  to  one  act  of  Julius 
Caesar;  by  1881a  knowledge  of  four  w^orks  —  Othello^  The 
Vicar  of  Wakefield^  The  Deserted  Village^  and  The  Bride 
of  Lam77iermoor~—\Y^s  expected,  and  year  by  year  the  list 
was  gradually  extended.  The  entrance  requirements  in  the 
classics  for  the  Bachelor  of  Arts  course  were  also  increased. 
Under  President  Caswell  in  1871 ,  six  books  of  the  Anabasis^ 
instead  of  four,  had  been  required,  with  an  option  of  sub- 
stituting two  books  of  Homer  for  two  of  the  Anabasis;  in 

C  401    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

1876  another  book  of  the  ^;z(7/;c^w  was  added,  with  the  same 
option  as  before,  and  in  1881  Greek  history  to  the  death  of 
Alexander.  The  Latin  requirement  was  raised  in  1876  by 
a  fifth  book  of  Caesar's  Comnwntaries  and  an  eighth  ora- 
tion of  Cicero ;  but  seven  orations,  inckiding  the  long  one  on 
the  Manilian  law,  were  accepted  two  years  later ;  Roman 
history  was  added  in  1881.  Sight  translation  as  a  substitute 
for  a  part  of  the  prescribed  reading  in  both  Latin  and  Greek 
was  allowed  in  1881.  In  mathematics  the  same  upward 
tendency  appeared.  Plane  geometry  had  been  added  in 
1871 ;  three  years  later  the  metric  system  was  required;  solid 
geometry  was  added  in  1876,  but  was  struck  out  the  next 
year.  The  standard  set  in  the  examinations  for  admission 
seems  to  have  been  high.  The  time  for  them  was  extended  in 
1875  from  two  days  to  three.  In  1876,  of  78  students  apply- 
ing for  entrance  only  22  were  admitted  without  conditions ; 
in  1878,only  18outof  85;  in  1880,  only  26  out  of  94,  while 
9  were  turned  away  altogether.  Admission  by  certificate 
from  approved  schools  began  in  1885. 

In  the  college  course  more  and  more  proficiency  was 
exacted.  On  recommendation  of  the  Faculty  in  1875,  the 
Corporation  raised  the  passing  mark  from  twenty-five  per 
cent  to  fifty.  Holders  of  scholarships  were  warned  two  years 
later  that  "A  scholarship  is  forfeited  if  the  candidate  .  .  . 
fails  to  secure  at  least  seventy-Jive  per  cent,  of  the  maximum 
mark."  Additional  scholarships  and  prizes  were  established 
from  time  to  time.  The  Hartshorn  premiums  for  excellence 
in  the  mathematics  required  for  admission  were  first  an- 
nounced in  the  catalogue  of  1872-73  ;  the  scholarship  of 
the  class  of  1838  (President  Robinson's  class),  the  income 
of  $3800,  in  1874-75;  the  essay  prize  of  the  class  of  1873, 
in  1877-78  ;  the  Foster  premium  in  Greek,  the  income  of 
a  fund  of  $3000  bequeathed  by  the  Hon.  La  Fayette  S. 

I    402    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Foster,  of  the  class  of  1828,  in  1881-82.  A  new  system 
of  honors  for  high  standing  in  the  studies  of  tlie  entire 
course,  and  of  departmental  honors  for  specialization  and 
high  rank  in  the  studies  of  a  department,  were  instituted  in 
1886,  as  one  consequence  of  the  enlargement  of  the  electi\  e 
system . 

The  most  unmistakable  sign  of  the  purpose  to  raise  stand- 
ards at  this  time  was  the  treatment  of  the  course  for  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy.  This  inheritance  from 
President  Wayland's  latter  years  had  long  been  regarded 
with  disfavor  by  the  Faculty  and  most  of  the  undergradu- 
ates. It  had  failed  of  its  original  purpose  —  to  spread  w  idely 
the  benefits  of  collegiate  study  among  young  men  who  could 
not  or  would  not  prepare  themselves  for  the  classical  course 
— for  it  had  ne\'er  been  taken  by  manv,  and  the  numbers 
were  now  very  small,  only  20  out  of  the  204  students  in 
1872-73.  Furthermore,  certain  evils  attended  it;  the  Pres- 
ident said  in  his  first  annual  report,  "Of  those  who  enter 
college  with  a  view  to  this  degree,  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
a  few  do  distinguish  themselves  in  special  studies  ;  neither 
on  the  other  hand  can  it  be  denied  that  the  great  majority 
of  them  come  with  aims  and  habits  of  mind  unsuited  to  suc- 
cessful study,  and  so  accomplish  but  little  that  is  \'aluable 
to  themselves,  or  creditable  to  the  University."  In  1875  the 
Corporation  therefore  voted  that  after  1875-76  the  course 
should  consist  of  four  years  instead  of  three.  They  also  raised 
the  entrance  requirements  by  adding  French  for  all  candi- 
dates for  the  degree,  and  five  books  of  Caesar  (or  an  equi^'a- 
lent  in  Cicero  or  Virgil)  for  those  who  did  not  intend  to  study 
the  classics  in  college ;  others  took,  as  before,  the  same  en- 
trance examinations  as  candidates  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts,  except  that,  as  formerly,  if  they  purposed  to  pur- 
sue only  one  ancient  language,  they  might  omit  the  entrance 

C  403  j 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

examination  in  the  other.  The  effect  of  these  changes  was 
soon  apparent  in  the  improved  quality  of  the  men  offering 
themselves  for  the  degree. 

These  additions  to  the  requirements  for  admission  and 
to  the  college  curriculum  brought  in  their  train  a  readjust- 
ment of  studies,  the  general  effect  of  which  was  an  enlarge- 
ment of  the  elective  system.  Since  the  reaction  against  that 
system  shortly  before  the  middle  of  the  century,  it  had  been 
gaining  ground  in  the  North,  first  at  Harvard  and  then 
elsewhere.  In  his  first  annual  report,  after  stating  the  dif- 
ficulty caused  by  the  conflicting  claims  of  old  and  new  stud- 
ies, Dr.  Robinson  gave  it  as  his  judgment  that  the  solution 
lay  chiefly  ' '  in  multiplying  the  number  of  elective  studies, 
and  perhaps  in  permitting  the  election  to  begin  even  at  an 
earlier  period  in  the  course  than  it  now  does."  He  added: 
"But  the  liberty  of  election  should  always  be  rigidly  re- 
stricted within  certain  limits ;  thoroughness  of  knowledge 
being  always  of  much  more  importance  to  the  student  than 
the  number  of  topics  to  which  his  attention  may  be  given." 
This  remained  substantially  his  position  to  the  end. 

In  conformity  with  these  ideas  a  limited  and  guarded 
elective  system  was  gradually  worked  out.  The  year  before 
Dr.  Robinson  came,  there  were  no  electives  in  the  Bache- 
lor of  Arts  course  for  the  first  two  and  a  half  years ;  in  the 
second  half  of  the  junior  year  the  student  chose  two  of  four 
subjects — geology,  political  economy,  Cicero  or  Tacitus, 
and  Plato ;  in  the  first  half  of  the  senior  year  he  had  a  choice 
between  a  course  in  Tacitus  and  Plato  and  a  course  in  Ger- 
man ;  in  the  second  half  he  chose  two  of  four  subjects  again 
— geology,  political  economy,  Cicero  or  Tacitus,  and  Sopho- 
cles or  Euripides.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  senior  in  the 
second  term  had  practically  no  choice  at  all  except  in  Latin 
and  Greek  ;  for  the  other  courses  were  the  same  offered  him 

[   404   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVF.RSITY 

the  previous  year,  and  ^\•llat  he  omitted  tlien  he  must  take 
now  unless  he  preferred  to  read  more  of  the  classics.  In  the 
Bachelor  of  Philosojihv  course  there  was  considerably  more 
opportunity  for  selection. 

For  several  years  there  was  no  change,  except  that  in 
1873,  when  German  became  a  required  study,  the  seniors 
had  no  option  at  all  in  the  first  half-year.  In  1877,  after 
French  was  required  for  admission,  a  choice  between  French 
and  German  was  possible  in  the  second  half  of  the  sopho- 
more year ;  juniors  were  allowed  to  choose  German  or  Latin 
or  Greek  in  the  first  term,  and  six  hours  from  eight  sub- 
jects in  the  second  ;  seniors  had  five  hours  of  electives  from 
eight  subjects  the  first  term,  and  six  hours  from  ten  sub- 
jects the  second  term.  Little  by  little  the  electives  increased 
in  number,  and  crept  back  into  the  first  term  of  the  sopho- 
more year. 

In  1885,  after  long  deliberation,  the  Faculty  adopted  a 
comprehensive  scheme  of  studies,  which  was  approved  by 
the  Corporation,  and  with  only  minor  changes  remained  in 
force  during  the  rest  of  President  Robinson's  term  of  office. 
In  the  course  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  all  the  fresh- 
man subjects  were  required :  Greek  and  Latin,  four  hours 
each;  mathematics,  six  hours;  French,  two  hours.  In  the 
first  term  of  the  sophomore  year,  twelve  hours  Mere  required, 
divided  equally  among  Greek,  Latin,  English,  and  as- 
tronomy, and  four  hours  A\ere  elective,  to  be  chosen  from 
two-hour  courses  in  mathematics,  German,  French,  and 
physiology  ;  in  the  second  term  the  only  changes  were  that 
astronomy  gave  way  to  mechanics  among  the  required  sub- 
jects, and  physiology  to  botany  among  the  elective.  In  the 
junior  year,  first  term,  twelve  hours  were  required  —  four 
in  English,  three  in  chemistry,  and  five  in  physics  —  instead 
of  fifteen  as  before,  and  four  or  fi\e  hours  were  to  be  elected 

C  405  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

from  Greek,  Latin,  mathematics,  German,  French,  and  bot- 
any ;  in  the  second  term  onl}^  nine  hours — divided  equally 
among  logic,  history,  and  English  —  were  required,  and 
seven  or  eight  hours  were  to  be  elected  from  Greek,  Latin, 
mathematics,  surveying,  German,  French,  chemistry,  zool- 
ogy, and  political  economy.  In  the  first  term  of  the  senior 
year  the  only  required  subjects  M-ere  intellectual  philosophy, 
four  hours,  and  history,  three  hours,  and  from  seven  to  nine 
hours  were  elective,  to  be  chosen  from  Greek,  Latin,  mathe- 
matics, German,  Italian,  Spanish,  chemistry,  geology,  Ro- 
man law,  and  political  economy ;  in  the  second  term  moral 
philosophy,  five  hours,  was  the  only  required  course,  except 
a  one-hour  course  in  agricultural  zoology  for  students  hold- 
ing state  scholarships,  and  electives  amounting  to  seven, 
eight,  or  nine  hours  (one  hour  less  for  holders  of  state 
scholarships)  were  allowed  from  the  history  of  philosophy, 
Greek,  Latin,  mathematics,  mechanics,  English  literature, 
German,  Italian,  Spanish,  chemistry,  geology,  and  inter- 
national law.  The  increase  of  range  in  electives  was  really 
greater  than  appears  from  a  bare  list  of  subjects,  because  in 
most  cases  advanced  courses  or  different  authors  were  now 
presented  in  the  successive  terms.  An  interesting  experi- 
ment was  made  by  allowing  juniors  to  take  one  hour  more 
or  less  as  they  chose,  and  seniors  two  hours.  The  course  for 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy  had  a  wider  range  of 
electives  in  the  first  two  3^ears,  as  other  subjects,  chiefly  sci- 
entific, might  be  taken  in  place  of  Greek  and  Latin. 

A  change  in  the  nature  of  the  Commencement  parts  nat- 
urally followed  the  widening  of  the  elective  system.  Since 
the  students  who  had  second  and  third  rank  might  now  have 
specialized  in  other  subjects  than  the  classics,  the  Latin  sa- 
lutatory and  the  classical  oration  had  to  be  given  up,  and 
with  them  the  other  honors.  A  new  system  went  into  eflfect, 

[   406   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

therefore,  in  1886  ;  the  upper  three-fifths  of  the  senior  class 
were  appointed  to  write  orations,  tlie  best  ten  of  n\  hich  were 
chosen  for  deH\ery  at  Commencement. 

A  more  significant  consequence  also  attended  the  enrich- 
ing of  the  curriculum:  graduate  study  of  some  thoroughness 
was  no^^■  possible,  and  was  soon  imdertaken.  Occasional 
requests  for  graduate  instruction  had  already  been  received 
from  time  to  time,  and  had  been  met  in  part.  In  1878-79 
and  1879-80  the  President  gave  courses  of  lectures  on  phi- 
losophical subjects  through  the  greater  part  of  the  year  to 
a  number  of  graduates  and  others  ;  and  in  1880-81  thirteen 
lectures  by  six  members  of  the  Faculty  were  deli\ered  in 
Manning  Hall  to  a  select  audience.  In  the  following  year  a 
class  of  fifteen  graduates  met  Professor  Lincoln  once  a  week 
for  six  months  to  study  Cicero's  Tusculan  Disputations. 
Reading  aright  these  signs  of  the  times.  President  Robin- 
son brought  the  question  of  graduate  instruction  before  the 
fellows,  who  in  1883  appointed  a  committee  to  confer  ^ith 
the  Faculty,  but  there  the  matter  stopped.  In  1886  the  Pres- 
ident said  in  his  annual  report :  "The  time,  it  seems  to  me, 
has  now  fully  come  for  Bro\\'n  University  to  ofi'er  a  course 
of  stud}^  to  be  pursued  by  candidates  for  the  degree  of  Doc- 
tor of  Philosophy.  .  .  .  The  frequent  and  earnest  requests  re- 
cently made  for  permission  to  pursue  a  course  of  study  that, 
on  examination,  should  entitle  to  receive  it,  m  ould  seem  to 
require  on  our  part  some  provision  to  this  end."  The  Board 
of  Fellows,  after  receiving  suggestions  from  the  Faculty 
on  the  matter,  in  1887  authorized  the  publication  in  the 
next  catalogue  of  the  conditions  upon  Mhich  the  degrees  of 
Master  of  Arts  and  Doctor  of  Philosophy  ^^■ould  be  conferred: 
the  former  required  one  year  of  graduate  studv  in  residence 
or  t^^■o  years  in  absence ;  the  latter,  two  years  of  graduate 
study  in  residence  and  "a  thesis  giving  evidence  of  high 

C  407  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

scholarship  and  of  special  excellence  in  the  studies  pursued." 
The  first  students  to  take  graduate  degrees  upon  these  con- 
ditions were  Austen  K.  De  Blois  and  George  G.  Wilson, 
each  of  whom  received  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  in  1888 
and  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  1889.  The  former,  a  prom- 
inent Baptist  clergyman,  was  for  several  years  president  of 
ShurtlefF  College  ;  the  latter  is  professor  of  international  law 
at  Harvard.  The  university  may  well  be  satisfied  with  the 
first  fruits  of  its  graduate  instruction. 

All  this  progress  toward  higher  academic  ideals  was  due 
in  part  to  Dr.  Robinson's  vigorous  leadership,  but  much  of 
the  success  of  his  administration  was  also  dependent  upon 
the  counsel  and  support  of  the  Faculty,  among  whom  were 
men  of  mature  years  and  long  experience  in  college  affairs. 
Professor  Lincoln  had  been  connected  with  the  Faculty  since 
1839,  Librarian  Guild  since  1847,  Professor  Greene  since 
1851,  and  Professor  Harkness  since  1855.  During  these 
years  of  service  they  had  gained  a  knowledge  of  college  ed- 
ucation in  general,  and  of  Brown  University  in  particular, 
which  would  have  been  invaluable  to  any  president  and  was 
especially  so  to  one  coming  to  a  new  field  rather  late  in  life ; 
the  advice  of  the  senior  professor  was  peculiarly  helpful  to 
Dr.  Robinson  in  many  trying  situations.  Among  the  younger 
members  of  the  Faculty  were  men  of  unusual  brilliancy, 
energy,  or  wisdom,  several  of  whom  ^\'ere  to  be  mainstays 
of  the  institution  for  many  years. 

The  most  brilliant  of  them,  however.  Professor  John  L. 
Diman,  died  suddenly  on  February  3,  1881,  in  the  middle 
of  President  Robinson's  administration.  His  death  came  as 
a  blinding  blow  to  the  college  and  the  city,  and  as  a  great 
loss  to  a  much  wider  circle.  Professor  Diman  was  born  on 
May  1,  1831,  in  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  where  his  paternal 
ancestors,  who  were  of  French  descent,  had  lived  for  four 

[  4o8   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

generations.  His  father,  a  man  of  strong  character  and  in- 
tellect, became  governor  of  the  state  in  1846;  his  mother 
was  descended  from  John  Alden,  and  \\as  a  grand-niece  of 
Benjamin  Franklin.  He  was  prepared  for  college  by  a  clergy- 
man, entered  Brown  University  in  1847,  and  graduated  four 
years  later  with  the  third  honor.  His  subsequent  training 
was  varied  and  thorough.  He  spent  a  year  in  the  study  of 
philosophy,  theology ,  and  the  classics  with  a  scholarly  clergy- 
man in  Newport ;  studied  for  two  years  in  Andover  Theo- 
logical Seminary ;  and  then  gave  nearly  the  same  period  to 
study  in  Germany,  devoting  himself  to  theology,  philosophy, 
history,  and  art.  After  graduation  at  Andover  in  1856,  he 
was  pastor  of  Congregational  churches  in  Fall  River  and 
Brookline,  Massachusetts,  until  1864,  when  he  became  pro- 
fessor of  history  and  political  economy  in  Brown  University. 
The  university  gave  him  the  degree  of  D.D.  in  1870. 

As  a  teacher  Professor  Diman  made  a  brilliant  success 
from  the  first,  but  grew  in  power  and  influence  with  every 
year.  Soon  discarding  textbooks,  he  instructed  wholly  by 
lectures ;  and  his  lectures  were  so  deep  and  vital  in  sub- 
stance, so  luminous,  polished,  and  witty  in  manner,  that  he 
became  the  idol  of  the  undergraduates  in  spite  of  his  high- 
bred reserve.  The  Bninoman  said,  immediately  after  his 
death:  "His  manner  of  teaching  furnished  such  an  ineffable 
relief  from  the  general  tedium  of  college  duties  as  to  greatly 
enhance  his  popularity  as  a  professor.  His  racy  sketches 
of  life  and  character,  his  humorous  pictures  of  past  times 
and  events,  his  inimitable  method,  not  only  served  to  ren- 
der complete  the  students'  conception  of  History,  but  also 
continually  to  keep  before  him  the  perfect  model  of  an 
instructor."  His  fame  soon  spread  beyond  the  college 
walls.  He  was  offered  professorships  at  Princeton  and  Johns 
Hopkins,  and  thrice  at  Harxard;  he  could  have  had  the 

C  409  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

presidency  of  Vermont  University  or  the  University  of 
Wisconsin;  he  was  in  great  demand  as  a  speaker  on  various 
civic  occasions  and  as  a  lecturer  at  other  universities.  One 
of  his  most  brilliant  series  of  lectures  was  given  at  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  in  1879,  on  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 
President  Oilman,  after  speaking  of  the  difficulty  of  the  sub- 
ject, said:  "From  the  beginning  to  the  end,  however,  he 
held  the  attention  of  his  hearers  in  the  closest  manner.  .  .  . 
If  he  used  any  notes  they  were  of  the  briefest  sort.  He  seemed 
to  be  talking  to  a  company  of  friends  on  a  subject  of  great 
importance,  which  he  perfecdy  understood,  with  an  unhesi- 
tating command,  not  only  of  names  and  dates,  but  of  the  ex- 
act epithets,  and  discriminating  sentences  which  he  wished 
to  employ. ' '  The  following  year  he  delivered  twelve  lectures 
on  theism  at  the  Lowell  Institute.  His  fluency  in  extempora- 
neous speech  was  the  more  remarkable  because  his  spoken 
style,  like  his  written,  was  of  close  texture.  "He  satisfied 
the  most  critical  at  the  same  time  that  he  captivated  the 
multitude,"  wrote  Edward  J.  Young,  in  a  memorial  sketch 
published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Histori- 
cal Society.  "He  never  resorted  to  any  rhetorical  tricks  or 
artifices.  .  .  .  His  delivery  was  faultless." 

Professor  Diman  left  no  \\ork  that  fully  embodies  his 
great  gifts.  His  published  writings  consist  of  a  few  reviews 
in  magazines,  several  addresses,  the  Lowell  Institute  lec- 
tures, and  a  group  of  sermons;  the  last  named,  with  most 
of  the  addresses  and  reviews,  are  contained  in  a  memorial 
volume.  Orations  and  Essays,  published  in  1882.  These  writ- 
ings reveal  his  quality,  although  they  cannot  exhibit  the 
scope  of  his  learning  or  the  full  power  of  his  mind.  His  cul- 
ture was  remarkable  for  its  completeness  and  symmetry,  the 
spiritual,  the  intellectual,  and  the  aesthetic  meeting  in  him 
in  satisfying  harmony.  His  mental  and  spiritual  breadth, 

I  410   ] 


HISTORY  OF   liROWN  UNIVERSITY 

his  historical  sense,  his  love  of  art,  all  united  to  create  in  him 
an  understanding  sympathy  with  the  great  historic  and  ritu- 
alistic churches,  yet  he  was  so  modern  in  his  outlook  that 
he  could  also  do  justice  to  the  most  rationalistic  of  faiths; 
hence  there  was  a  basis  of  truth  in  the  crude  opinion,  often 
expressed,  that  he  Mas  both  a  Roman  Catholic  and  a  Uni- 
tarian. Candor  and  intellectual  fearlessness  are  conspicuous 
in  his  lectures  on  theism,  in  which  he  faced  all  difficulties  with 
unflinching  fairness.  His  fidelity  to  the  truth  as  he  saw  it  is 
shown,  not  only  by  his  teaching  free  trade  in  Rhode  Island, 
but  also  by  his  address  at  Providence  on  Roger  \\^illiams, 
perhaps  the  best  example  of  his  historical  method,  in  which 
he  strove  to  be  just  to  colonial  Massachusetts  even  though 
he  shattered  some  illusions  about  the  founder  of  Rhode  Is- 
land. On  every  page  that  he  ^^•rote  is  the  charm  of  a  style 
at  once  intellectual  and  beautiful,  flexible,  quiet,  wholly  free 
from  false  ornament,  dignified  yet  unpretending,  and,  like 
his  own  nature,  uniting  fineness  and  force  in  remarkable 
degree.  In  the  death  of  Professor  Diman  Brown  Uni^'ersity 
and  the  state  of  Rhode  Island  lost  a  natural  prince. 

The  courses  in  history  and  political  economy  were  taught 
by  temporary  substitutes  until  1883,  when  the  chair  w^as 
again  filled  by  Elisha  Benjamin  Andrews. 

Two  years  after  the  decease  of  Professor  Diman,  the 
university  lost  by  death  another  of  its  most  valuable  teach- 
ers. Professor  Samuel  S.  Greene,  who  was  stricken  with 
paralysis  on  January  22,  1883,  wdiile  on  the  \\av  to  his 
class-room,  and  died  two  days  later.  Professor  Greene  was 
born  on  May  3,  1810,  in  Belchertown,  Massachusetts.  A 
farmer's  son,  with  few  early  opportunities  for  education, 
he  entered  Brown  University  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  and 
graduated  in  1837  the  valedictorian  of  his  class.  His  whole 
life  thereafter  was  given  to  the  cause  of  education.  He 

C  411] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

taught  in  Worcester  Academy  (which  in  later  years  he  res- 
cued from  death  by  poverty  and  started  on  its  present  pros- 
perous career)  and  in  the  Boston  schools ;  he  was  superin- 
tendent of  schools  in  Springfield  in  1840-42,  the  first  offi- 
cial of  this  kind  in  Massachusetts  ;  in  1849-51  he  was  agent 
of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education;  in  1851-53  he 
was  superintendent  of  the  Providence  schools,  at  the  same 
time  holding  a  professorship  in  the  university  and  giving 
lectures  to  teachers,  which  led  in  1853  to  the  establishment 
of  the  Rhode  Island  State  Normal  School.  He  served  eigh- 
teen years  on  the  Providence  school  committee ;  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Rhode  Island  Institute  of  Instruction  ;  and  as 
president  of  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction  and  of 
the  National  Teachers'  Association  exerted  a  wide  influence. 
By  his  eight  books  on  the  English  language  and  grammar, 
published  between  1848  and  1878,  and  having  an  aver- 
age sale  of  fifty  thousand  copies  a  year,  his  name  became 
known  throughout  the  country.  He  began  his  connection 
with  the  Faculty  of  Brown  University  in  1851,  as  professor 
of  didactics;  from  1855  till  his  death  he  held  a  professor- 
ship variously  styled  of  mathematics,  civil  engineering,  nat- 
ural philosophy,  and  astronomy,  also  teaching  logic  for  some 
years  and  English  for  a  short  time.  The  university  gave 
him  the  degree  of  LL.D.  in  1870. 

Professor  Greene  was  deeply  interested  in  the  workings 
of  the  mind,  and  developed  a  science  and  art  of  teaching, 
according  to  the  lights  of  his  day.  He  was  himself  a  skillful 
teacher.  "His  power  of  condensing  and  logically  arranging 
all  the  various  points,  not  only  of  mathemadcal  problems 
and  theorems,  but  of  all  the  subjects  with  which  he  had 
to  do,  was  remarkable,"  says  his  pupil  and  colleague, Pro- 
fessor Benjamin  F.  Clarke  ;  who  adds,  "He  possessed,  too, 
a  remarkable  faculty  of  drawing  out  the  pupil  beyond  and 

C   412   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

outside  of  the  text,  and  inspiring  him  with  the  feeling  that 
he  was  investigating  for  himself. ' '  He  had  also  the  natural 
teacher's  keen  interest  in  his  scholars,  loving  their  society 
and  enjoying  their  sports  to  the  end.  "As  an  associate 
and  an  officer,"  writes  Professor  Clarke,  "we  found  in  him 
a  wise  and  reliable  counsellor,  a  man  of  rare  wisdom  and 
sound  judgment.  .  .  .  His  efforts  to  increase  the  financial 
resources  of  the  University  have  been  unceasing,  and  much 
of  its  material  prosperity  is  due  to  his  own  personal  influ- 
ence." 

Registrar  Douglas  was  succeeded  in  1879  by  his  son, 
Francis  W.  Douglas  ;  the  latter  gave  place  in  1884  to  Gil- 
man  P.  Robinson,  who  retained  the  office  until  1889.  Astew^- 
ard  of  the  grounds  and  buildings,  Archibald  G.  Delaney, 
was  appointed  in  1884. 

Four  chancellors  held  office  during  Dr.  Robinson's  pres- 
idency. Chancellor  Patten  died  in  1873,  after  a  term  of  only 
six  years.  His  successor  was  the  Hon.  Benjamin  F.Thomas, 
of  the  class  of  1830,  who  after  a  distinguished  career  in 
Massachusetts  as  lawyer,  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  and 
member  of  Congress,  came  to  Providence  to  spend  the  rest 
of  his  days;  he  served  as  chancellor  only  four  years,  dying 
in  1878.  He  was  followed  by  the  Hon,  Thomas  Durfee, 
of  the  class  of  1846,  a  Providence  la^\yer  who  had  held 
many  offices  of  trust  in  the  state,  including  that  of  chief  jus- 
tice. On  his  retirement  from  the  chancellorship  in  1888, 
he  was  succeeded  by  his  classmate.  Colonel  William  God- 
dard,  who  had  already  been  a  trustee  for  thirty -one  years, 
and  was  to  serve  the  university  as  chancellor  for  nearly 
a  generation.  In  President  Robinson's  third  year  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Corporation,  the  venerable  John  Kingsburv, 
died  after  holding  the  office  for  t\\enty-one  years  ;  he  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  L,  Caldwell,  professor 

C  413   J 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  Newton  Theological  Institution,  soon  to  be  president  of 
Vassar  College,  who  served  through  the  rest  of  the  admin- 
istration. In  1882  the  treasurership  passed  from  Marshall 
Woods  to  Arnold  B.  Chace. 

President  Robinson  was  a  stern  disciplinarian,  yet  he 
favored  certain  relaxations  in  the  regimen  of  the  students. 
Compulsory  chapel  attendance  on  Sunday  was  abolished 
early  in  his  first  year;  and  after  1877  undergraduates  were 
no  longer  ' '  required  to  attend  public  worship  twice  on  Sun- 
day," the  President  himself,  according  to  report,  inform- 
ing them  that ' '  once  was  enough. ' '  The  custom  of  allowing 
students  a  certain  number  of  absences  from  class  exercises 
and  chapel  was  also  introduced  under  President  Robinson, 
in  1885. 

A  few  changes  in  the  calendar,  made  early  in  this  admin- 
istration, brought  the  college  year  into  nearly  its  present 
form.  In  1875  Commencement  was  put  into  the  third  week 
in  June,  the  week  thus  lost  being  made  up  by  shortening 
the  vacation  between  the  terms.  The  following  year  the  pro- 
cess of  reducing  the  midwinter  vacation,  which  had  been 
eight  weeks  long  in  President  Messer's  day,  was  completed 
by  its  elimination,  the  second  term  beginning  the  day  after  the 
semi-annual  examinations  closed.  The  academic  year  now 
opened  on  the  third  Wednesday  in  September,  instead  of  the 
first  Friday.  The  Thanksgiving  recess  was  shortened  from 
a  week  to  three  days,  and  a  Christmas  vacation  of  ten  days 
was  granted.  The  spring  vacation  was  also  lengthened  to 
nine  days.  The  total  result  of  the  changes  was  that  the  work- 
ing time  of  the  college  year  was  about  a  week  shorter. 

The  tax  for  Commencement  expenses,  chiefly  for  the  din- 
ner to  the  alumni,  which  had  long  been  levied  on  the  grad- 
uating class,  was  reduced  in  1876  from  $25  to  $18,  and 
abolished  in  1881.  Tuition,  on  the  other  hand,  was  raised  in 

C   414   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

1877  from  $75  a  year  to  $100.  The  attendance,  which  for 
the  three  years  previous  liad  been  slif^luly  above  250,atonce 
fell  to  231,  but  soon  roseagain,  and  reached  high-water  mark 
for  this  administration  with  270  students  in  1882-83.  The 
maximum  professor's  salary  remained  at  $3000,  the  point 
it  had  gained  in  1871.  The  President's  salary  was  $5000. 

During  the  latter  part  of  this  administration  theextension 
of  the  elective  system  and  the  enlarged  opportunities  for 
the  study  of  physical  science  began  to  develop  a  new  type 
of  student,  who,  with  less  interest  in  general  culture,  ac- 
quired a  semi-professional  enthusiasm  for  some  one  line  of 
study.  Partly  as  a  result,  the  interest  in  old  forms  of  public 
speaking  continued  to  decline.  Commencement  parts  A\ere 
more  and  more  considered  a  bore;  junior  exhibitions  lan- 
guished, and  after  1882  wholly  ceased  to  be;  debating  and 
other  literary  practice  survived,  however,  in  many  of  the 
Greek-letter  societies.  The  Brunonian^  published  every  third 
Saturday  after  1873-74,  and  fortnightly  after  1878-79, 
became  more  readable  with  every  change,  containing  fewer 
essays  and  more  light  verse,  sketches,  editorials,  and  college 
news ;  but  if  there  was  gain,  there  was  also  loss,  which  had 
to  be  repaired  in  the  next  administration  by  the  founding  of 
a  college  magazine. 

Offensive  social  pranks  and  serious  disorders  more  and 
more  declined  as  undergraduate  life  became  better  organ- 
ized and  more  dignified.  Hazing  almost  wholly  vanished. 
Junior  Burials  came  again  into  favor  for  some  years,  but 
finally  grew  stale.  The  Bninomau  expressing  the  opinion  in 
1881  that  they  gave  more  pleasure  to  "the  vast  crowds 
on  the  sidewalks"  than  to  the  participants.  Next  year  the 
celebration  was  omitted,  and  has  never  been  resumed  in  its 
original  form. 

While  these  phases  of  undergraduate  life  waned,  two 
C   415   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

others  continued  to  wax.  The  Greek -letter  fraternities  flour- 
ished in  spite  of  the  open  hostiHty  of  the  President,  num- 
bering nine  in  1889,  with  a  membership  of  172  out  of  265 
undergraduates.  The  social  features  of  Class  Day  more  and 
more  overshadowed  the  literary.  In  1878  fifteen  seniors  made 
a  new  departure  by  holding  an  elaborate  reception  in  Uni- 
versity Hall  and  Manning  Hall,  the  two  buildings  being 
connected  by  a  covered  way.  In  1880  a  similar  reception 
was  held  in  University  Hall  and  the  Commencement  tent 
directly  behind  it.  Two  years  later  the  whole  graduating 
class  held  a  reception,  with  some  dancing,  in  the  newly 
completed  Sayles  Hall,  and  this  became  the  custom  there- 
after. In  the  spring  of  1885  the  Boat  Club  gave  in  Sayles 
Hall  the  first  ball  ever  given  on  the  college  grounds,  exciting 
diverse  comment.  The  next  year  the  senior  reception  on  the 
night  of  Class  Day  became  chiefly  a  dance  ;  and  in  the  same 
year  the  receptions  and  ' '  spreads ' '  of  the  Greek-letter  so- 
cieties, held  in  the  various  college  buildings,  were  a  great 
feature. 

The  history  of  athletics  at  Brown  under  President  Rob- 
inson is  almost  wholly  the  history  of  one  sport.  Boating 
languished,  in  spite  of  fitful  attempts  to  revive  it;  football 
existed  only  in  the  form  of  an  annual  battle  between  the  two 
lower  classes,  until  near  the  end  of  the  period,  when  the 
modern  game  began  to  be  played ;  track  athletics  received 
small  attention  ;  tennis  had  some  vogue  for  a  time,  but  never 
excited  widespread  interest.  Baseball,  however,  grew  more 
and  more  into  favor,  and  became  the  great  rallying-point  of 
enthusiasm  for  undergraduates  and  graduates  alike.  A  'var- 
sity nine  was  formed  in  1874  for  the  first  time  in  three  years ; 
the  teams  henceforth  increased  in  skill  from  year  to  year, 
until  in  1879  Brown  won  the  intercollegiate  champion- 
ship in  a  season  ending  with  a  memorable  victory  over  Yale. 

C  416  ;] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Since  then  the  college  has  stood  in  tlie  front  rank  in  this 
sport. 

The  ever-rising  standard  of  skill  in  sports  and  the  ever- 
growing emphasis  upon  intercollegiate  contests  began  at 
this  period  to  raise  problems  that  still  engage  the  anxious 
thought  of  college  officers.  The  attitude  of  Dr.  Robinson  and 
his  colleagues  was  substantially  that  of  most  college  Facul- 
ties now  :  they  desired  that  students  should  enjoy  as  widely 
as  possible  the  health  and  pleasure  to  be  had  from  physical 
sports,  but  feared  that  concentration  upon  intercollegiate 
contests  between  a  few  men,  with  high-wrought  excitement, 
would  deprive  the  majority  of  these  benefits  and  at  the  same 
time  shift  the  center  of  their  enthusiasms  and  ambitions 
to  other  than  intellectual  pursuits.  President  Robinson  dis- 
cussed the  various  aspects  of  the  problem  in  his  reports 
from  year  to  year;  and  in  1884  he  surveyed  the  whole 
ground,  and  outlined  a  program  the  main  features  of  which 
were  realized  in  the  next  administration : 

As  matters  now  stand,  only  a  small  portion  of  our  students  receive 
any  personal  benefit  from  our  athletic  sports.  Those  who  take  part  in 
them  merely  to  fit  themselves  for  the  match  games,  too  ofi;en  nm  into 
hurtful  extremes ;  others,  engaging  in  them  fitfully  and  unintelligentK", 
fail  of  the  good  the}'  might  otherwise  recei\e;  while  the  majorit\', 
content  with  merely  looking  on  and  applauding,  get  no  real  benefit 
whatever  from  them.  The  question  is  worth  considering  whether  the 
time  has  not  come  for  this  Uni\'ersity  to  take  some  decisive  action 
toward  providing  itself  with  a  G\Tnnasium  of  its  own,  and  not  merelv 
with  the  hired  and  limited  adAantages  of  one  in  the  city ;  and  whether 
some  provision  ought  not  to  be  made  for  such  iastiiiction  in  h^■giene 
and  practical  physical  training  as  shall  not  only  secure  to  our  students 
a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  personal  health,  but  shall  habituate  them  to 
a  compliance  with  the  conditions  of  a  healthful  ph^■sical  development. 

It  was  perhaps  not  an  accident  that  at  the  alumni  meet- 
ing, two  days  before  this  report  was  read  to  the  Corporation, 

C  417  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Dr.W.W.  Keen  offered  a  resolution,  which  was  adopted  by 
a  unanimous  vote, "That  a  committee  ...  be  appointed  by 
the  Chair  for  the  purpose  of  taking  immediate  steps  for  the 
erection  of  a  first-class  gymnasium  for  Brown  University." 
The  building  which  President  Robinson  had  for  years  urged 
the  need  of  was  not  to  be  erected  during  his  term  of  office, 
but  an  organized  movement  to  secure  it  was  at  last  under 
way. 

It  is  clear  that,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Robinson, 
Brown  University  made  large  advances  in  equipment  and 
in  educational  policy.  In  his  relations  with  the  students  the 
President  was  less  successful. 

The  first  impression  made  upon  the  undergraduates  by 
his  commanding  presence  and  manifest  power  was  very  fa- 
vorable. "  Our  president  is  a  man,"  said  The Brunonian  of 
September,  1872.  "  Not  merely  a  '  figure-head, '  he  is  such  a 
power  as  has  not  been  felt  here  for  years.  The  respect  yielded 
to  him  is  not  that  extorted  by  the  office,  but  is  inspired  by 
the  man  who  fills  it. ' '  The  students  never  lost  their  admira- 
tion for  his  ability,  but  he  failed  to  win  their  confidence  and 
love.  Most  of  them  thought  him  hard,  cold,  unsympathetic, 
and  some  regarded  him  as  harsh  and  unjust.  There  was 
considerable  basis  for  these  impressions.  Many  years  of  con- 
tact with  students  of  theology  had  made  him  less  able  than 
he  might  otherwise  have  been  to  understand  and  sympa- 
thize with  younger  and  more  frivolous  minds.  In  dealing  with 
actual  or  supposed  delinquents  he  was  often  rough  and  not 
careful  enough  about  making  accusations  on  insufficient  evi- 
dence. ' '  Not  unfrequently , ' '  says  one  of  his  early  pupils  and 
warm  admirers, "did  he  lose  influence,  when  in  conference 
with  oft'enders,  by  laying  himself  open  to  the  satirical  charge 
of  knowing  too  many  things  that  were  not  so."  "And  yet 
in  truth  it  should  be  added,"  says  the  same  critic,  "that 

C  418   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

he  who  was  so  stern  in  the  public  proclamation  of  the  la^^ 
was  apt  to  become  even  too  tender  when  approached  w  ith 
an  appeal  in  behalf  of  the  individual  oflender."  This  mode 
of  administering  justice  has  never  won  favor  w  ith  either  the 
criminal  or  the  public.  The  truth  is  that  in  spite  of  his  pro- 
found reverence  for  "immutable  law,"  Dr.  Robinson  did 
not  have  the  judicial  temperament,  but  was  a  man  of  strong 
emotions,  which  swayed  him  now  to  one  extreme  and  now 
to  another,  his  anger  and  his  compassion  alike  often  prov- 
ing too  strong  for  the  leash  of  his  intellect  and  will.  This  im- 
petuous center  of  his  nature  was  usuall  v  concealed  by  a  life- 
long habit  of  reserve,  but  sometimes  the  la\a  broke  through 
the  crust.  Gusts  of  righteous  wrath  over  infractions  of  dis- 
cipline swept  him  beyond  the  bounds  of  good  judgment 
and  good  taste  ;  Jupiter  Tonans  would  roll  his  thunders  and 
brandish  his  lightnings  A\hen  in  truth  he  knew  not  where 
to  strike.  Yet  he  ncAcr  lost  his  dignity,  even  in  his  personal 
encounters  with  culprits  in  those  days  when  a  college  pres- 
ident was  expected  to  be  policeman  as  well  as  judge. ' '  There 
was  something  majestic,  even  Olympian, ' '  writes  one  of  his 
pupils, "in  the  long  stride  and  flying  silvery  hair,  when 
seen  in  the  moonlight,  and  in  his  tight  grasp  on  a  sopho- 
more's coat  collar  there  was  the  relentless  vigor  of  sixty 
years  of  Calvinism."  The  gentler  feelings  were  less  often 
displayed,  commonly  showing  themselves  only  by  a  slight 
tremulousness  of  the  lips  and  an  almost  imperceptible  tremor 
in  the  voice,  but  at  times  thev  found  freer  vent.  "  He  talked 
to  me  like  a  father,"  said  a  notorious  scapegrace  after  an 
official  interview  with  the  President,  "and  I  mean  to  do  bet- 
ter." In  chapel,  on  the  morning  when  he  had  to  announce 
the  death  of  Professor  Diman,  Dr.  Robinson  was  so  moved 
that  he  could  not  go  on  with  the  service. 

A  lighter  side  of  the  President's  attitude  toward  college 

C  419  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

disorders,  unsuspected  by  the  students  at  least,  is  shown  in 
his  autobiography,  which  sometimes  lets  one  hear  the  laugh 
of  Hermes  behind  the  frown  of  Zeus.  After  describing  the 
almost  deserted  chapel  one  morning  when  a  cane  rush  was 
going  on  outside,  he  continues: ' '  But  on  leaving  the  chapel  a 
most  comical  scene  met  the  eye.  Under  a  steadily  falHng rain 
the  ground  was  covered  with  text-books,  note-books,  coats, 
hats,  waistcoats,  fragments  of  shirts  and  flannels,  while  from 
the  lower  end  of  the  campus  came  two  or  three  bareheaded, 
half-stripped  Sophomores,  bearing  in  triumph  the  offend- 
ing cane. ' '  At  the  time,  however,  the  President  concealed  his 
sense  of  the  humor  of  such  situations  even  more  success- 
fully than  he  hid  his  tenderness,  inflicting  severe  penalties 
on  ringleaders  and  sometimes  on  others.  In  spite  of  individ- 
ual mistakes  his  discipline  as  a  whole,  aided  by  the  improv- 
ing spirit  of  the  times,  had  good  results.  His  own  summary 
of  the  case  is  just:  "  Drastic  measures  became  a  necessity. 
In  due  time  a  healthier  tone  prevailed ;  and  years  before 
my  withdrawal  from  oflice  a  more  quiet  and  orderly  body 
of  students  could  not  be  desired." 

Dr.  Robinson  was  undoubtedly  a  great  teacher.  Some  of 
his  pupils  at  Rochester  are  rapturous  in  his  praise,  and  even 
the  cooler-headed  portray  him  as  a  powerful  stimulus  to 
independent  thought  and  action.  He  was  himself  a  fearless 
thinker  in  theology,  suspected  of  heresy  by  some,  and  much 
of  his  teaching  was  destructive.  "As  I  listened  to  the  lec- 
tures , ' '  writes  the  Rev .  Dr .  Behrends , "  I  seemed  to  be  walk- 
ing through  a  mass  of  theological  ruins.  .  .  .  But  the  ruth- 
less havoc  was  the  greatest  blessing  of  my  life.  It  broke  the 
chafing  bonds  of  traditionalism  ;  it  drove  me  from  the  mud 
huts  into  God's  free  and  boundless  air."  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Strong,  his  successor  at  Rochester,  says  : "  In  his  class-room 
I  found  my  intellectual  awakening.  His  searching  questions, 

C    420    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

and  the  discussions  that  followed,  roused  my  thinkint^ 
powers  as  nothing  ever  had  before."  Dr.  Strong  adds 
that  his  influence  was  widespread:  "The  impulse  to  clear 
and  manly  utterance  in  the  pulpit,  the  love  of  exact  state- 
ment, the  disposition  to  preach  truth  rather  than  tradition, 
which  have  of  late  years  transformed  our  Baptist  j^ulpit  and 
brought  it  abreast  of  our  ad\ancing  age,  have  been  chiefly 
due,  under  God,  to  the  teaching  and  the  example  of  Dr. 
Robinson." 

President  Robinson's  work  as  teacher  of  philosoj)hy  in 
Brown  University  Mas  not  equal  to  his  work  at  Rochester. 
By  nature  and  attainments  he  Mas  less  qualified  for  teaching 
philosophy,  and  he  came  to  it  when  he  had  lost  some  of  the 
enthusiasm  of  youth.  Furthermore,  the  minds  with  which  he 
was  now  dealing  were  more  immature  and  more  indifferent; 
they  challenged  him  less,  and  seemed  less  worthy  of  being 
challenged  by  him.  Yet  a  distinction  must  be  made  between 
his  earlier  and  his  later  teaching  at  Brown.  In  the  earlier 
period  he  encouraged  freedom  of  discussion  and  aroused 
thought,  somewhat  as  he  had  done  in  the  seminary.  "The 
sparks  flew,"  writes  one  of  his  pupils  of  this  time,  Alfred 
G.  Langley,  of  the  class  of  1876,  translator  and  editor  of 
Leibnitz,  "and  the  intellects  of  the  students  participating 
in  the  discussion  were  aroused  and  stimulated  into  such 
action  as  till  then  they  had  never  known  or  e\en  dreamed 
of."  " More  than  one  student,"  adds  Mr.  Langley,  "owes 
to  him  all  the  rational  faith  he  has."  President  Benjamin  I. 
Wheeler  says:  "When  I  came  under  his  instruction  in 
1874, 1  was  in  rebellion  against  the  faith  of  my  boyhood. 
The  old  formulas  had  lost  their  meaning  for  me.  .  .  .Dr. 
Robinson's  teaching  all  tended  to  make  a  man  approach  the 
problems  of  the  religious  life  with  an  openness  and  fearless- 
ness that  engendered  confidence  and  rebuked  the  thought  of 

C  421    J 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

shame,  and  best  of  all  led  to  the  construction  of  a  faith  that 
could  hold  a  natural  and  constituent  place  in  a  man's  whole 
thought  and  view  of  the  universe."  But  in  the  last  third  of 
liis  presidency,  whether  from  increasing  years  or  from  a 
growing  burden  of  official  and  private  cares,  Dr.  Robinson 
became  more  stereotyped  in  his  teaching,  more  dogmatic 
and  intolerant  of  dissent.  Sometimes  still "  the  sparks  flew," 
but  not  in  mental  fence  with  even  a  semblance  of  equality ;  it 
w^as  rather  a  conflict  between  Thor's  hammer  and  an  anvil, 
and  the  anvil  was  not  likely  to  provoke  a  second  blow. 

A  distinction  must  also  be  made  between  his  instruction 
in  metaphysics  and  in  moral  philosophy.  His  teaching  of 
ethics  was  always  animated,  pungent,  powerful,  for  here 
his  emotional  and  religious  nature  combined  with  the  in- 
tellectual to  give  weight  and  motion  to  his  words.  Many 
undergraduates,  uninterested  in  the  subdeties  of  psycholog- 
ical introspection  or  the  history  of  philosophical  doctrines, 
responded  deeply  to  his  sternly  sublime  teaching  of  the  im- 
mutability of  moral  law  as  grounded  in  the  eternal  nature  of 
God,  and  were  the  stronger  for  it  all  their  lives.  One  of  his 
later  pupils.  Professor  Walter  G.  Everett,  says:  "Already 
the  new  movements  of  thought  Avhich  have  so  profoundly 
aflfected  the  statement  of  the  problems  of  psychology,  ethics, 
and  metaphysics  were  beginning  to  take  shape.  Dr.  Robin- 
son's philosophy,  representing  as  it  did  the  traditional  Scot- 
tish realism,  faced  the  past  rather  than  the  future.  Unques- 
tionably his  best  constructive  work  is  found  in  his  chapter  on 
'Moral  Law.'  Here  he  showed  that  morality  is  grounded 
in  the  needs  of  human  nature.  This  was  admirable.  It  gave 
to  many  a  man  a  new  and  vital  interpretation  of  the  moral 
order.  If  Dr.  Robinson  did  not  develop  all  the  significant 
implications  of  the  doctrine,  he  at  least  laid  a  secure  foun- 
dation for  them." 

[    422    ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Early  and  late,  too,  whatever  the  subject,  he  was  power- 
ful in  the  class-room  by  his  terse,  pithy  statements  of  f^reat 
truths,  w  ith  telling  illustrations  from  varied  sources.  His 
pupils  delight  to  repeat  the  epigrams  stored  up  in  their  note- 
books: 

Physical  science  will  undouhtedh' smash  some  of  our  crocken*  gods. 

Deit}'  need  not  send  a  jjoliceman  after  the  sinner ;  the  sinner  cairies 
the  policeman  inside. 

As  soon  as  any  church  sa\s  that  it  alone  is  tlie  true  church  and  there 
is  no  other,  take  Aour  hat. 

A  man's  principles  and  emotions  come  out  and  sit  on  his  fc-atures. 

An  idea  is  cjuite  prcMdent  that  moral  law  is  a  sort  of  scarecrow 
which  Deit}'  has  set  up  in  the  coi-niields  of  this  world,  and  whicii  he 
will  take  down  whenever  he  thinks  it  safe  to  do  so. 

Disciplined  intellect,  gentlemen,  asks  no  favor  hut  that  of  God. 

The  same  po^er  of  statement  is  richly  illustrated  in  his 
Lectures  on  Preachings  delivered  at  Yale  in  1882  and  pub- 
lished the  next  year;  these  lectures,  spoken  extempore  and 
printed  from  shorthand  notes,  give  a  far  better  idea  of 
his  power  as  a  teacher  than  any  other  of  his  works. ^  Some- 
times he  conveys  a  historical  truth  b\-  a  picture,  as  when  he 
says  of  the  Puritans,  "But  long  and  tedious  as  were  their 
sermons,  narrow  as  were  their  views,  and  bigoted  as  they 
were  in  spirit,  they  yet  made  lines  on  the  English  face  that 
to-day  help  to  give  it  dignity."  At  another  time  he  lashes, 
with  a  sarcasm  that  Carlyle  would  have  relished ,  the  preacher 
who  over-cultivates  "the  homiletic  habit"  and  begins  by 
"striking  twelve":  "When  he  should  be  ripest  and  fullest 
in  his  strength,  he  stands  up  to  preach,  but,  like  an  old  and 

*Dr.  Robinson's  other  works,  1)esidcs  numerous  articles  in  n)aga7.incs  (espe- 
cially The  Christian  Rroienv,  which  he  edited  for  several  yc-ars,  The  lia/itist 
Quarterly,  and  The  Homiletic  Review) ,  ai-c  Princi/iles  and  Practice  of  Mo- 
rality, 1888,  Christian  Theohq-y,  1894,  Christian  Evidences,  1895,  Bacca- 
laureate Sermons,  1896,  and  his  Jutohiogra/ihy,  1896. 

C   423   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

worn-out  clock,  there  is  a  muffled  sound  of  moving  machin- 
ery, a  buzz  and  a  whirr,  but  no  stroke ;  he  cannot  strike 
one."  Or  he  ridicules  by  a  humorous  misuse  of  a  poetical 
quotation,  as  when  he  says  of  the  "mild  "  preacher:  "An- 
other is  always  soft  in  tone  and  meek  in  spirit  and  gentle 
in  word,  even  when  denouncing  the  vilest  of  iniquities.  .  .  . 
You  hear  him,  and  are  reminded  of  the  poet's  — 

' — noise  like  a  hidden  brook 
In  the  leafy  month  of  June, 
That  to  the  sleeping  woods,  all  night, 
Singeth  a  quiet  tune.'" 

His  usual  style  was  impressive  by  its  very  directness  and 
simplicity  :  "  If  any  man  among  men  needs  to  be  watchful 
over  his  own  soul,  and  to  strive  incessantly  to  keep  himself 
alive  to  the  solemnity  of  the  truth  he  handles,  it  is  he  who 
is  always  at  work  on  the  sensibilities  of  others."  "In  the 
final  great  struggle  between  the  Christian  religion  and  all 
false  religions,  now  so  close  at  hand,  that  one  of  them  will 
prevail  which  can  do  the  most  and  the  best  for  mankind." 
These  and  like  utterances  came  home  to  his  hearers  with  the 
greater  force  because  back  of  them  was  felt  to  be  an  intense, 
virile  personality,  charged  with  electric  energy  of  will.  His 
very  roughness  was  a  needed  tonic  for  many  listless  souls. 
' '  What  scorn  he  felt, ' '  writes  President  Faunce, ' '  for  idlers 
and  aimless,  boneless  men  !  How  caustic  could  he  be  in  his 
allusions  to  week-kneed,  sentimental,  lachrymose  piety,  co- 
pious in  profession  but  poor  in  deed !  How  he  took  some  men 
by  the  mental  coat-collar  and  shook  them  into  self-realiza- 
tion! How  he  taught  some  to  stop  shambling  and  lounging 
and  to  stand  erect  in  God's  world!  " 

Dr.  Robinson's  work  as  a  teacher  was  done  partly  in  the 
pulpit,  for  many  students  heard  him  there  who  never  reached 
his  class-room.  Of  his  method  as  a  preacher  no  one  is  so 

C  424  3 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

able  to  speak  as  his  present  successor  in  tlie  presidency,  ^\  ho 
says: 

As  a  speaker  he  was  logic  on  fire.  He  thouglit  on  his  feet,  not  repeat- 
ing sentences  carefully  conned  in  the  study,  but  actually  going  thi-ough 
the  thought  jjrocess  in  the  presence  of  his  audience,  and  we  had  the 
same  j^leasure  in  hearing  as  in  watching  a  powerful  engine  in  resist- 
less and  serene  moAement.  .  .  .  Probably  no  man  in  this  countr\-  j)as- 
sessed  a  finer  extemporaneous  English  style.  I..ike  his  own  body,  it 
was  flexible  and  muscular,  the  perfect  vehicle  of  his  burning  thought. 
He  was  absolutely  simple  and  lucid.  One  might  disagree:  he  could 
not  misunderstand.  Fogginess  he  hated.  His  style  was  like  a  morning 
atmosphere  in  which  each  object  sti\nds  out  sharp  and  bold.  Hence  he 
had  immense  power  to  cany  conviction  to  an  assembly.  As  he  pro- 
ceeded he  kindled,  until  his  voice  grew  clear  and  resonant,  the  eyes 
gleamed  dark  with  scorn  of  falsehood  and  e\il,  the  gestures  grew  more 
swift  and  awkward  until  at  some  critical  moment  his  left  hand  was 
thrust  into  his  pocket !  Then  came  the  lightning  and  the  thunder.  The 
hand  in  pocket  was  the  unfailing  sign  that  the  preacher  had  been  totiiUy 
swept  away  in  the  torrent  of  his  own  conviction. 

Dr.  Robinson  gave  seventeen  years  of  his  life  to  the  service 
of  Brown  University  ;  and  when  he  resigned  in  1889,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-four,  he  had  the  right  to  sav  in  his  letter 
of  March  20  to  the  Corporation  :  "  I  am  now  the  more  ready 
to  retire,  because  the  prospects  of  the  UniAcrsity  have  at  no 
time  since  my  connection  ^ith  it  been  so  encouraging  as 
they  now  are,  and  because  it  is  now^  in  a  condition  from 
which,  under  wise  guidance  and  with  such  changes  as  in 
due  course  of  events  will  necessarily  come,  it  can  rapidly  ad- 
vance to  a  measure  of  usefulness  not  hitherto  attainable." 
His  physical  vigor,  like  his  mental,  was  still  unimpaired; 
yet  it  was  felt  that  the  time  had  come  for  him  to  retire,  and 
he  did  so  with  dignity  and  honor. 

But  his  work  was  not  yet  done.  In  spite  of  hea\v  per- 
sonal misfortunes  his  bodily  strength  and  the  Roman  har- 
dihood of  his  spirit,  more  and  more  mellowed  by  Christian 

C  425  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

grace,  carried  him  heroically  through  five  years  of  toil.  Dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  1890  hesupplied  thepulpitof  achurch 
in  Philadelphia,  at  the  same  time  giving  courses  of  lectures 
before  the  Andover,  Rochester,  and  Crozer  theological  semi- 
naries; at  Crozer  he  also  lectured  in  the  four  succeeding 
years.  During  1891  he  preached  almost  constantly  in  Phila- 
delphia churches,  and  in  the  spring  of  1892  he  gave  a  short 
course  of  lectures  at  Brown  University.  From  the  autumn  of 
that  year  until  the  spring  of  1894  he  was  professor  of  ethics 
and  apologetics  in  the  University  of  Chicago.  During  his 
second  year  there  he  knew  that  his  days  were  numbered, 
but  he  kept  steadily  at  work. ' '  Without  a  single  omission, ' ' 
said  President  Harper,"  heperformed  thedutiesof  hischair, 
being  conveyed  to  and  from  the  University  in  a  carriage  on 
days  when  the  weather  was  particularly  inclement. ' '  In  these 
last  months,  amid  conditions  much  like  those  at  Rochester, 
he  seems  to  have  returned  to  his  earlier  methods  in  the  class- 
room. ' '  The  utmost  freedom  was  allowed, ' '  writes  Professor 
Goodspeed,  his  colleague,  "and  all  sorts  of  objections,  argu- 
ments, suggestions,  received  a  fair  hearing ;  only  prolixity 
and  irrelevancy  being  mercilesslv  choked  off.  My  inform- 
ant tells  me  that  it  was  a  most  stimulating  exercise ;  the 
Doctor  was  full  of  electricity,  and  the  sparks  and  shocks 
were  frequent." 

Dr.  Robinson  returned  to  the  East  in  April,  1894  ;  and  on 
the  Sunday  before  its  Commencement  he  preached  at  Vassar 
College,  of  which  he  had  been  a  trustee  since  the  founding. 
The  exertion  sapped  his  fast-failing  strength  ;  on  arriving 
in  Boston  soon  after,  he  was  taken  to  the  city  hospital,  on 
June  10,  where  three  days  later  he  passed  away.  The  old 
warrior  had  fought  the  good  fight  to  the  end,  and  died  with 
harness  on. 

[   426   ] 


CIIAl'TKU   XI 
PRESIDENT  ANDREWS'S  ADMINISTRATION 

PERSONALITY  OF  THE  PRKSIDKNT  :    PHENOMF.NAI.  GROWTH   IN   A'lTF.Nn- 

ANCE,   FACULTY,  AND  CURRICULUM:  THE  WOMEn's  COLLEGE:    LACK  OF 

FUNDS  :   THE  PRESIDENT'S  RESIGNATION 

AT  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation  on  June  20,  1889,  the 
JTjl  Rev.  Elisha  Benjamin  Andrews  w  as  unanimously 
chosen  president  of  the  university  and  professor  of  moral 
and  intellectual  philosophy.  President  Andrews  was  born  in 
Hinsdale,  New  Hampshire,  on  January  10, 1844.  His  father 
and  grandfather  were  Baptist  ministers  of  some  prominence; 
his  brother,  Charles  B.  Andrews,  was  governor  of  Connecti- 
cut in  1879-81.  He  began  to  prepare  for  college  at  the  Con- 
necticut Literary  Institution,  in  Suffield,  but  on  the  outbreak 
of  the  Civil  War  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  First  Connecticut 
Heavy  Artiller}^  He  rose  to  be  second  lieutenant  in  two  years ; 
was  wounded  in  the  siege  of  Petersburg  in  1864,  losing  an 
eye;  and  was  mustered  out  of  service  in  the  same  year. Com- 
pleting his  preparation  for  college  at  academies  in  Bernards- 
ton  and  Wilbraham,  Massachusetts,  he  entered  Brown  Uni- 
versity in  1866,  and  graduated  in  1870  with  the  fourth 
honor.  He  was  principal  of  the  academy  at  Suffield  during 
1870-72,  and  then  studied  in  Newton  Theological  Institu- 
tion, graduating  there  in  1874.  After  a  year's  pastorate  in 
Beverly,  Massachusetts,  he  served  as  president  of  Denison 
University  in  Granville,  Ohio,  from  1875  to  1879.  During 
the  next  three  years  he  was  professor  of  homiletics  at  New- 
ton. Receiving  an  appointment  to  the  chair  of  history  and 
political  economy  in  Brown  University  in  1882,  he  spent  a 
year  studying  in  Germany,  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
his  professorship  in  1883.  It  was  felt  at  once  that  a  great 

[427   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

power  had  come  into  the  university.  His  robust,  magnetic 
personahty  thrilled  and  stimulated  the  students  both  in  and 
out  of  his  classes,  and  hero-worship  became  a  popular  cult. 
His  reputation  soon  spread  :  Colby  University  gave  him  the 
degree  of  D.D.,  and  the  University  of  Nebraska  the  degree 
of  LL.D.,  in  1884 ;  and  in  1888  he  accepted  a  call  to  Cor- 
nell University  as  professor  of  political  economy  and  finance. 
His  loss  was  deeply  lamented  at  Brown  and  among  the 
alumni ;  and  when  the  presidency  became  vacant,  there  was 
a  widespread  and  eager  demand  that  he  be  chosen  to  fill  it. 

It  was  soon  clear  that  he  was  the  man  for  the  place.  At  his 
touch  the  old  college  leaped  into  new  life,  and  began  to  grow 
at  an  astonishing  rate.  The  number  of  male  undergradu- 
ate students,  which  had  reached  200  as  long  ago  as  1823, 
and  277  in  1853,  but  which  for  the  thirty-five  years  since 
had  seldom  gone  above  250  and  had  often  fallen  much  below 
it,  now  began  to  rise  like  the  incoming  tide.  Under  President 
Robinson  the  highest  mark  had  been  270  in  1882 ;  under 
President  Andrews  the  attendance  of  undergraduate  men 
rose  in  successive  years  to  276,  326,  348,  422,  490,  532, 
622,  and  641 — a  gain  of  more  than  140  per  cent  in  eight 
years.  And  this  was  not  all :  the  graduate  students,  of  whom 
there  were  but  three  at  the  end  of  the  previous  administra- 
tion, increased  even  more  rapidly,  until  they  numbered  117, 
in  1895;  and  when  to  these  are  added  the  undergraduate 
students  in  the  Women's  College,  the  totals  have  a  new 
hundred  with  each  succeeding  year  from  1892  to  1896 — 
549,  660,  740,  859,  and  908,  a  gain  of  almost  240  per  cent. 

The  Faculty  and  the  curriculum  had  a  like  enlargement. 
In  1888  there  were  fourteen  professors,  two  assistant  pro- 
fessors, six  instructors,  a  librarian,  an  assistant  librarian,  a 
registrar,  and  a  steward — a  total  of  twenty-six.  Eight  years 
later  there  were  twenty-one  professors,  thirteen  associate 

C   428   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

professors,  three  assistant  professors,  thirty-one  instructors, 
eleven  assistants,  a  lil)rarian,  an  assistant  lil)rarian,  three  cat- 
aloguers, a. dean  of  w  omen,  a  registrar,  an  assistant  registrar, 
and  a  steward — a  total  of  eighty-eight.  During  President 
Andrews's  first  year,  instruction  was  gi\  en  in  seventeen 
departments;  eight  years  later,  in  twenty-five.  This  did  not 
mean,  however,  that  eight  wholly  new  departments  had  been 
added,  for  the  increase  was  due  partly  to  a  di\'ision  of  old  de- 
partments. Rhetoric  and  oratory  were  separated  from  Eng- 
lish literature  in  1891;  Germanic  languages  from  Romance 
languages  in  1892;  history  from  political  and  social  science 
in  1892;  zoology  from  comparative  anatomy  in  1892;  and 
engineering  was  divided  into  drawing,  civil  engineering,  and 
mechanical  engineering  in  1894.  The  new  subjects  intro- 
duced, either  as  separate  departments  or  as  subdi\isions 
of  old  departments,  were  Semitic  languages  and  Oriental 
history  in  1890,  styled  biblical  literature  and  history  in 
1895  ;  classical  archaeology  in  1890,  enlarged  to  fine  arts  in 
1892;  classical  philology  and  Sanskrit  in  1891,  revived  as 
Indo-European  philology  in  1895;  militarv  science  in  1892; 
pedagogy,  under  philosophy,  in  1893;  law,  under  polidcal 
and  social  science,  in  1893  ;  architecture,  under  fine  arts,  in 
1894;  music,  under  fine  arts,  in  1895  ;  books  and  libraries 
in  1896.  One  or  two  departments,  on  the  other  hand,  were 
dropped  or  merged  with  others.  A  far  more  significant  thing 
was  the  great  increase  in  the  range  of  instruction,  \\hether 
under  old  heads  or  new.  In  philosophy  the  number  of  hours 
of  teaching  per  week,  through  the  year,  increased  from  6}4 
in  1889  to  2l-/i  in  1896;  in  fine  arts,  from  1}^  to  9;  in 
mathematics,  from  14  to  22 ;  in  English,  from  9}4  to  48 
in  history  from  3  to  20 ;  in  political  science,  from  3  to  8 
in  social  science,  from  0  to  7  ;  in  German,  from  9  to  21 
in  Romance  languages,  from  9  to  36 ;  in  chemistrv,  from 

C  429   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

19^  to  32  ;  in  physics,  from  4^  to  33.  The  increase  in  the 
whole  university  was  from  135  hours  per  week  to  458^. 

With  this  increase  in  number  of  courses  went  an  exten- 
sion of  the  elective  system.  In  1889  Greek  and  Latin  became 
electi\'e  after  the  freshman  year,  even  in  the  course  for  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  mechanics  was  no  longer 
required;  the  number  of  required  hours  in  the  sophomore 
year  thus  fell  from  eleven  to  seven,  while  the  elective  hours 
rose  from  five  to  nine.  Smaller  changes  in  the  last  two  years 
brought  down  the  required  work  in  the  whole  course  from 
72  per  cent  to  56.  After  1892-93  the  studies  of  the  senior 
year  were  wholly  elective,  and  after  1894-95  all  but  four 
hours  in  the  junior  year.  By  1896  the  total  number  of  re- 
quired hours  was  twenty-six,  of  elective  thirty-seven.  From 
the  first,  under  President  Andrews,  the  required  studies  for 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy  became  identical,  after 
the  freshman  year,  with  those  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts. 

These  bare  facts  and  figures,  however,  give  no  adequate 
impression  of  the  change  which  had  come  over  the  institu- 
tion. At  best  they  touch  but  the  quantitative  side,  and  the 
New  Brown  was  at  bottom  not  quantity  but  quality,  a  spirit 
and  a  life,  of  which  the  growth  in  size  was  only  a  result. 
The  primary  source  of  this  new  life  was  the  President. 
Other  causes,  indeed,  cooperated  from  the  first,  and  grew 
in  strength  as  the  movement  went  on.  It  would  be  false  and 
unjust  to  ignore  the  foundation  that  had  been  laid  through 
years  of  work  by  Corporation,  presidents,  professors,  and 
students  in  the  past;  other  men  had  labored,  and  the  new 
president  entered  into  their  labors.  In  particular  the  raising 
of  standards,  and  the  growth  in  funds,  buildings,  and  Fac- 
ulty under  President  Robinson,  had  prepared  the  way  for 
greater  things.  Conditions  in  the  community  and  the  nation, 

C  430  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

also,  were  increasingly  favorable  for  expansion.  Growth  m 
wealth  and  population  made  it  natural  that  more  and  more 
youth  shoidd  seek  a  college  education,  and  tlie  nudtiplica- 
tion  and  improvement  of  high  schools  put  the  means  of  pre- 
paring for  college  within  the  reach  of  an  increasing  num- 
ber. The  intellectual  life  of  America  was  rising  to  a  higher 
plane,  chiefly  under  the  stimulus  of  modern  science;  the  sci- 
entific spirit  was  permeating  e\ery  department  of  thought, 
and  arousing  multitudes  to  a  new  realization  of  the  value 
of  trained  intellect  in  confronting  the  problems  of  life  on  all 
its  levels.  But  all  these  conditions  had  existed  for  some  time 
and  yet  Brown  University  still  lay  half  dormant.  Something 
more  was  needed  to  complete  the  circuit  and  send  elec- 
tric currents  through  the  \\hole.  President  Andrews  pro^•ed 
to  be  the  something  more.  He  was  not  only  a  powerful  per- 
sonality—strong of  body,  intellect,  and  will,  racy  in  speech, 
of  large  outlook,  great  of  heart,— but  the  avenues  of  influ- 
ence between  him  and  other  men,  particularly  young  men, 
were  always  open.  Vitality  streamed  from  him  into  them, 
invigorating  and  ennobling.   The  range  and  robustness 
of  his  thinking,  his  absolute  fearlessness,  the  impression 
he  gave  of  having  wresded  with  the  toughest  problems 
in  the  spiritual  world  and  come  off  conqueror,  inspired  ad- 
miration ;  while  his  mental  hospitality,  which  was  only 
the  intellectual  phase  of  his  broad  humanity,  caused  the 
feeblest  mind  to  feel  at  home  in  his  presence  and  begot  self- 
confidence.  He  made  his  pupils  \\ish  mightily  to  be  bigger 
men  and  believe  that  they  could  be.  In  short,  he  A\as  a  great 
natural  leader  and  inspirer  of  young  men,  arousing  both 
their  intellectual  interests  and  their  personal  loyalty  in  re- 
markable degree,  and  hence  he  was  a  great  teacher  and  a 
great  college  president. 

In  the  presence  of  this  personal  po\Ner  at  its  head  must 
C   431    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

be  found  the  fundamental  explanation  of  the  impetus  which 
the  college  now  received,  and  which  sent  it  forward,  after 
lagging  for  so  many  years,  far  more  rapidly  than  the  other 
New  England  colleges  during  the  same  period.  The  exhila- 
ration was  for  a  time  intense.  Brown  University  experienced 
a  genuine  Renaissance.  The  consciousness  of  swelling  life, 
of  growing  power,  of  a  larger  and  more  splendid  future  en- 
tered into  professors  and  students  alike.  A  contagious  new 
life  of  this  sort  spreads  in  a  thousand  traceless  ways  by  the 
touch  of  personality  on  personality;  each  teacher  and  under- 
graduate and  alumnus  became  a  magnet  drawing  others  to 
the  old  college  now  fast  growing  into  a  new  university.  This 
is  the  primary  and  central  fact.  But  in  addition  it  is  neces- 
sary to  look  more  closely  into  some  of  the  ways  by  which  the 
President  called  forth  and  shaped  the  vital  energies  of  the 
institution. 

The  new  Faculty  was  largely  of  his  selection,  although 
several  of  the  strongest  members  antedated  his  presidency 
by  many  years  and  formed  an  invaluable  bond  of  continuity 
with  the  past.  Some  of  these,  unfortunately,  did  not  long  re- 
main to  support  him  in  the  onward  march,  and  they  should 
be  spoken  of  first. 

Professor  Bancroft  died  on  December  8,  1890,  as  a  result 
of  worry  and  overwork.  He  was  born  in  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts, on  March  9,1837,  received  an  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  that  city,  and  graduated  at  Brown  University 
in  1859;  after  a  short  experience  in  business  Hfe,  and  sev- 
eral years  of  successful  teaching  in  high  schools  at  Waltham 
and  Newton,  Massachusetts,  he  succeeded  Professor  Dunn 
in  the  chair  of  rhetoric  and  English  literature  at  Brown 
University  in  1868,  retaining  the  office  till  his  death.  As  a 
teacher  he  was  practical  and  sensible  rather  than  brilliant 
or  inspiring.  His  pupils  still  remember  with  gratitude  his 

C   432   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

plain,  common-sense  instruction  in  the  art  of  writing,  par- 
ticularly in  the  systematic  planning  of  a  discourse.  In  teach- 
ing literature  he  was  less  successful,  ha\  ing  neither  \\  ide 
learning  nor  a  distinctly  popular  gift;  yet  he  started  many 
students  on  fruitful  courses  of  reading,  and  laid  the  foun- 
dations for  an  appreciation  of  Chaucer,  Shakespeare,  and 
Milton.  In  all  his  work  he  was  cruelly  overburdened.  His 
wit  and  courageous  good-cheer  made  him  generally  liked 
by  his  colleagues  and  pupils,  and  his  upright,  open  nature 
won  him  respect  as  a  man.  His  memory  is  fittingly  ])er- 
petuated  by  the  Bancroft  Fund,  established  by  his  \\idow 
and  friends,  for  the  purchase  of  books  in  the  department  he 
served  so  long  and  faithfully. 

Dr.  Guild  retired  from  active  service  in  1893,  enjoving 
the  well-deserved  title  of  librarian  emeritus  until  his  death 
on  May  13,  1899.  He  was  born  in  Dedham,  Massachu- 
setts, on  May  4,  1822  ;  graduated  from  Brown  University 
in  1847 ;  and  from  that  time  devoted  his  life  to  the  service 
of  the  college  as  its  librarian  and  historian,  even  his  years 
of  retirement  being  given  to  a  revision  of  his  books  and  the 
collection  of  new  material.  He  received  the  degree  of  LL.D. 
from  Shurtleff  College  in  1874.  Dr.  Guild  served  on  the 
Providence  common  council  and  the  school  committee  for 
many  years  ;  he  was  a  member  of  various  historical  societies, 
and  helped  to  found  the  American  Library  Association  in 
1876,  acting  also  as  its  first  secretary.  But  to  the  end  his 
thoughts  centered  in  Brown  University  and  its  library.  He 
knew  the  history  of  the  university  more  intimately  than  anv 
other  man  ;  his  interest  in  its  present  and  future  ^\"as  equally 
keen ;  and  he  welcomed  undergraduates  and  alumni  to  the 
library,  as  to  the  hearthstone  of  the  academic  family,  with 
a  fluent  geniality  that  never  tired.  As  a  librarian  his  fiuida- 
mental  principle  was  that  all  users  of  the  library  should  ha\e 

C  433   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

free  access  to  the  shelves ;  the  method  needed  supplementing 
in  the  many  ways  devised  by  modern  library  science,  but 
it  was  the  one  thing  most  needful,  and  thousands  of  read- 
ers cherish  grateful  memories  of  Dr.  Guild  for  allowing 
them  the  comfortable  society  of  the  books  themselves  with- 
out the  formality  of  an  introduction  by  means  of  cards  in 
a  catalogue.  He  thus  encouraged  the  reading  habit  in  under- 
graduates ;  modern  librarians  do  much  else,  but  they  do 
nothing  better. 

Professor  Jenks  died  on  September  26,  1894,  in  his  sev- 
enty-fifth year.  After  graduation  in  the  class  of  1838,  he 
gave  himself  chiefly  to  teaching,  and  was  principal  of  Peirce 
Academy,  Middleborough,  Massachusetts,  from  1842  to 
1871.  From  1871  till  the  year  of  his  death  he  was  curator 
of  the  museum  of  natural  history  in  Brown  University,  and 
professor  of  agricultural  zoology  for  nearly  the  same  period. 
The  museum  was  practically  his  creation ;  he  devoted  to  it 
through  almost  a  quarter-century  his  rare  knowledge  and 
skill  as  a  collector  and  taxidermist,  often  contributing  liber- 
ally of  his  means,  and  it  remains  his  best  memorial. 

A  year  later  occurred  the  death  of  Professor  Blake.  He  was 
a  native  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  where  he  was  born  on 
April  20,  1836.  His  father  was  a  nephew  of  Eli  Whitney, 
inventor  of  the  cotton-gin ;  and  his  mother  was  descended 
from  the  Rev.  James  Pierpont,  a  founder  of  Yale  College. 
After  graduation  at  Yale  in  1857,  and  some  time  spent 
in  teaching  and  graduate  study  in  this  country,  he  went  to 
Germany,  where  for  three  and  a  half  years  he  studied  chem- 
istry and  physics  under  Kirchhoff,  Bunsen,  Kolbe,  Dove, 
and  Magnus.  Upon  his  return  he  held  temporary  profess- 
orships in  physics  at  Vermont  University  and  Columbia 
College  during  1866-69,  and  then  accepted  the  chair  of 
physics  and  the  mechanical  arts  in  Cornell  University.  In 

C   434   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

1870  he  came  to  Brown  as  the  first  incumbent  of  the  new 
Hazard  professorship  of  pli^sics,  and  held  the  chair  t\\  enty- 
five  years,  resigning  in  the  spring  of  1895.  His  heakh  had 
already  begun  to  fail,  and  he  died  on  October  1  of  the  same 
year.  Professor  Blake  was  by  nature  an  in\estigator,  not  a 
teacher;  in  required  courses  lie  was  not  se\ere  enough,  and 
lazy  undergraduates  easily  took  ad\antage  of  his  guileless 
good  nature.  He  was,  nevertheless,  a  delightful  man  to  know, 
even  across  the  desk  of  a  lecture  room  ;  and  those  wiio  came 
away  from  his  classes  with  ver}-  haz}-  ideas  of  mechanics 
and  physics  were  yet  the  better  for  contact  with  so  gentle 
and  pure  a  spirit.  In  the  conduct  of  small  classes  and  in  guid- 
ing laboratory  work  he  ^\as  much  more  successful.  But 
his  gift  was  for  invention  and  research.  "The  little  that 
he  had  leisure  to  do  in  this  direction,"  says  the  writer  of 
the  memorial  sketch  of  him,  "was  of  such  a  qualitv  as  to 
make  his  name  known  and  esteemed  in  the  scientific  w  orld, 
both  in  this  country  and  abroad.  His  beautiful  device  for 
photographing  the  motion  of  metallic  plates  vibrating  under 
human  speech,  merits  special  attention.  .  .  .  It  was  his  great 
pleasure,  during  the  winter  of  1876-7,  in  connection  with 
his  intimate  friend.  Professor  John  Peirce,  to  assist  Mr. 
Alexander  Graham  Bell  in  experiments  with  the  telephone 
—  then  in  the  very  early  stages  of  its  development."  Pro- 
fessor Blake's  last  great  service  to  the  uni\'ersitv  uas  his 
planning  and  supervision  of  the  building  of  Wilson  Hall, 
the  physics  laboratory,  to  which  he  gave  minute  attention 
for  niany  months. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  two  members  of  the  Faculty  w  ho 
had  long  labored  side  by  side,  and,  next  to  President  Way- 
land,  had  done  more  than  any  others  to  spread  the  fame  of 
the  college — Professors  Lincoln  and  Harkness. 

Professor  Lincoln  died  on  October  17,  1891 .  He  w  as  born 
C  435   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  on  February  23,  1817,  of  an  old 
New  En  gland  family.  His  father  was  a  printer  and  publisher; 
his  brother  Heman  was  for  twenty  years  professor  in  Newton 
Theological  Institution.  He  attended  the  Boston  Latin  School 
and  the  Boston  high  school,  entered  Brown  University  in 
1832,  and  graduated  in  1836.  He  taught  in  Columbian  Col- 
lege for  a  year  and  then  entered  Newton  Theological  Insti- 
tution; but  deciding  that  he  was  not  adapted  for  the  ministry, 
he  became  tutor  in  Greek  at  Brown  University  from  1839 
to  1841.  The  next  three  years  he  spent  in  study  abroad,  the 
first  two  chiefly  in  Germany,  the  third  in  France  and  Italy, 
and  returned  to  Brown  as  assistant  professor  of  Latin  in 
1844,  becoming  professor  the  next  year.  In  this  chair  he 
devoted  the  rest  of  his  life  to  the  service  of  the  university, 
except  for  six  months  abroad  in  1857  and  a  year  abroad  in 
1887-88;  during  the  years  1859-67,  however,  he  was  prin- 
cipal of  a  school  for  young  women,  although  he  still  had 
charge  of  all  the  Latin  courses  in  college  and  taught  some 
of  them.  He  published  selections  from  Livy  in  1847,  the 
works  of  Horace  in  1851,  and  selections  from  Ovid  in  1882; 
the  books  had  a  total  saleof  about  sixty-five  thousand cojDies. 
He  wrote  essays  and  reviews  for  The  JVotih  American  Re- 
view^ The  Christian  Review^  and  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra^  be- 
sides many  papers  for  the  Friday  Club,  and  much  miscel- 
laneous matter  for  the  newspapers,  including  the  Brown 
necrology  for  many  years.  Brown  University  gave  him  the 
degree  of  LL.D.  in  1859.  Colby  University  and  Vassar  Col- 
lege would  have  elected  him  president,  but  he  declined  to 
leave  his  professorship.  At  the  semi-centennial  of  his  grad- 
uation, in  1886,  the  alumni  gave  to  the  college  a  portrait 
of  him  by  Herkomer;  four  years  later  a  fund  of  $100,000, 
raised  in  his  honor  and  named  after  him,  was  added  to  the 
endowment,  the  income  to  be  used  to  secure  him  his  usual 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

salary  so  long  as  he  lived,  whether  he  \\  as  able  to  teach  or 
not. 

The  impression  made  by  Professor  Lincoln  was  due 
chiefly  to  his  delightful  personality.  He  was  not  a  nature  of 
great  power,  although  he  had  force  and  a  cutting  edge  \\  hen 
there  was  need;  perfect  order,  without  undue  restraint,  pre- 
vailed in  his  class-room.  It  Mas  not  his  force  but  his  quick 
sympathy,  his  youthful  freshness  and  gaiety  of  spirit,  and 
the  indefinable  quality  called  charm,  that  drew  students  to 
him  and  kept  his  memory  delightful  to  them  through  all 
after  years.  There  was  in  him  to  the  end  something  of  the 
boy,  though  mellowed  and  chastened  by  study  and  time,  and 
hence  a  rare  kind  of  intellectual  comradeship  between  him 
and  his  pupils  was  always  possible.  As  a  teacher  of  litera- 
ture, too,  his  personality  was  the  main  thing.  He  could  not  be 
called  a  great  scholar  or  a  great  critic,  but  in  the  class-room 
he  was  inimitable.  His  published  essays,  although  they 
reveal  him  as  a  thoughtful  interpreter  of  literature,  cannot 
show  what  was  most  delightful  and  stimulating  in  the  liv- 
ing teacher — the  high  response  to  noble  sentiment,  the  deep 
content  with  the  simple,  primary  values  of  life,  the  exquisite 
sensitiveness  to  felicities  of  word  and  phrase,  the  boyish  glee 
over  some  bit  of  fun  or  happy  fancy.  Choice  Latin  was  to  him 
like  a  draught  of  oldFalcrnian.But  literary  sensibility  brings 
its  penalty  to  a  teacher;  and  his  pupils  sometimes  took  quiet 
amusement  in  watching  the  twinges  of  pain  on  his  sensitive 
lips  while  some  ruthless  sophomore  was  bumping  through 
an  ode  of  Horace.  On  the  other  hand  good  work  by  his  pu- 
pils gave  him  keen  pleasure.  "How  he  beamed  and  glowed 
overa  happy  translation!  "writes  President  Faunce.  "With 
what  contagious  gladness  he  expounded  some  callkla  junc- 
tura  in  Tacitus!  How  he  radiated  his  own  joy  in  the  Ars 
Poetica!  How  he  exploded  over  some  venerable  joke  in  Ter- 

C   437   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ence,  as  if  it  were  the  latest  cartoon  in  Punch!  The  Latin 
a  dead  language?  No  one  ever  said  that  who  sat  under 
'Johnny  Link'  in  23  University  Hall."  He  was  in  the 
truest  sense  a  teacher  of  the  humanities;  in  Latin  literature 
he  saw  human  life  and  culture,  and  helped  his  pupils  to  feel 
its  broadening  and  refining  influence.  "It  was  his  hand," 
writes  a  former  student  in  The  Providence  Journal^  "that 
opened  for  them  the  gates  of  an  exceedingly  pleasant  land 
whither,  in  intervals  between  the  cares  and  labors  of  active 
life,  it  is  still  the  privilege  of  the  educated  man  to  steal  away 
for  refreshment." 

Professor  Harkness  retired  from  teaching  in  1892;  but 
as  professor  emeritus  for  many  years  he  kept  in  close  touch 
with  the  university,  besides  serving  on  the  Board  of  Fellows 
from  1904  till  his  death  on  May  27,  1907.  He  was  born  in 
Mendon,  Massachusetts,  on  October  6,  1822.  He  attended 
district  school,  and  theUxbridge  high  school  and  Worcester 
Academy  each  for  one  term;  after  a  year's  study  at  home, 
with  some  help  from  a  minister,  he  entered  Brown  Uni- 
versity in  1838,  and  at  once  took  high  rank;  in  the  junior 
exhibition  of  1841  he  was  assigned  the  Latin  oration,  the 
second  honor,  and  the  next  year  graduated  as  valedicto- 
rian. After  teaching  in  the  Providence  high  school  for  ten 
years,  also  serving  as  principal  for  eight  years,  he  studied 
in  Berlin,  Bonn,  and  Gottingen  during  1853-55,  receiving 
the  degree  of  Ph.D.  from  Bonn  in  1854.  In  1855  he  took 
the  chair  of  Greek  in  Brown  University,  and  held  it  until 
1892,  but  spent  the  academic  years  1870-71  and  1883-84 
in  Europe  on  leave  of  absence.  He  received  the  degree  of 
LL.D.  from  Brown  University  in  1869.  He  was  a  founder 
of  the  American  Philological  Association,  and  held  in  it  the 
offices  of  secretary,  treasurer,  vice-president,  and  president. 
He  was  also  a  founder  of  the  American  School  of  Classical 

[   438   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Studies  in  Athens,  and  a  member  of  its  managing  committee 
for  manv  years.  He  early  began  to  pul)lish  Latin  textbooks, 
bringing  out  some  fourteen  different  works  l)et\\een  1851 
and  1905,  besides  revisions,  and. //''//-.s/  Greek  Ihokm  1 860. 
His  Latin  books  include  editions  of  Caesar,  Cicero,  and  Sal- 
lust,  and  the  famous/v«^?/2  Grammar^  first  published  in  1864  ; 
all  his  books  had  a  wide  sale,  and  the  grammar  for  many 
years  practically  supplanted  all  other  Latin  grammars  in  the 
United  States.  He  also  published  articles  in  the  I'rausac- 
tions  of  the  American  Philological  Associatio7i^  the  Bibliotheca 
Sacra,  and  elsewhere. 

The  facts  of  Professor  Harkness's  academic  career  and 
authorship  aftbrd  a  hint  of  the  useful  diyersity  of  temjjer- 
ament  between  him  and  his  colleague,  Professor  Lincoln. 
It  was  an  excellent  thing  for  Brown  Uni\ersity  that  its  de- 
partments of  the  classics  had  as  their  heads  for  so  long  a 
time  two  men  of  such  different  types  although  fundamen- 
tally harmonious  ;  for  each  emphasized  a  needful  side  of  cul- 
ture without  excluding  the  other  side.  The  undergraduates 
needed  the  literary  enthusiasm  of  Professor  Lincoln.  They 
also  needed  the  insistence  upon  exact  and  accurate  scholar- 
ship in  which  lay  the  peculiar  strength  of  Professor  Hark- 
ness.  The  latter 's  nature  was  essentially  intellectual,  and 
hence  his  approach  to  language  and  literature  may  be  broadly 
called  scientific.  His  joy  in  knowing  and  stating  the  exact 
truth  about  the  lost  digamma  or  the  original  cases  was  really 
one  with  that  of  a  paleontologist  in  restoring  the  skeleton 
of  a  dinosaur;  his  insistence  upon  the  shades  of  meaning 
conyeyed  by  jxeu  and  8e  had  the  precision  of  mathematics, 
and  brought  even  to  the  thoughdess  undergraduate  some 
realization  that  a  language,  as  well  as  a  theodolite,  might  be 
an  instrument  of  extremely  nice  adjustment.  But  all  this 
should  not  be  taken  to  mean  that  Professor  Harkness  A\as 

[   4f39   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

indifferent  to  literature  or  lacked  artistic  faculty.  His  Latin 
Grammar  alone  might  disprove  that,  for  it  is  itself  a  work 
of  art  in  its  lucidity  of  statement,  sense  of  proportion, 
and  adaptation  to  the  minds  for  which  it  was  designed. 
Those  who  had  never  heard  him  make  an  address,  but  knew 
him  chiefly  as  a  grammarian,  were  often  surprised  at  the 
Attic  grace  and  finish  of  his  style  and  the  justness  of  his 
thought.  These  qualities  charmed  the  great  audience  in 
his  address  at  the  Commencement  dinner  of  1902,  on  the 
sixtieth  anniversary  of  his  graduation.  In  the  class-room, 
it  is  true,  he  gave  relatively  little  attention  to  the  purely 
literary  aspect  of  the  subject-matter ;  but  he  had  his  char- 
acteristic reason  for  this,  saying  in  his  annual  report  of 
1874-75,  "It  is  indeed  somewhat  disheartening  that  we 
are  able,  in  the  brief  time  allowed  us,  to  read  so  little, 
that  we  must  leave  untouched  such  a  wide  range  of  the 
choicest  literary  treasures,  but  when  the  alternative  is  be- 
tween reading  a  small  amount  critically,  and  hurrying  over 
a  large  amount  superficially,  I  think  the  true  educator  can- 
not long  hesitate."  His  manner  in  the  class-room  had  its 
own  charm  of  Hellenic  urbanity  and  repose.  His  uniformly 
pleasant  relations  with  his  pupils  were  continued  in  after 
years,  notably  at  the  receptions  to  the  alumni  in  his  house 
and  garden  on  Prospect  Street,  ^^'hich  became  one  of  the 
most  delightful  features  of  Commencement  week.  His  old 
age  was  one  that  a  Greek  might  have  envied  —  spent  with 
family  and  friends  around  him,  and  full  of  peaceful  labor 
done  in  health  and  mental  clarity  to  the  very  end. 

With  the  passing  of  these  men  went  much  of  the  strength 
of  the  old  Faculty ;  but  much  remained  in  the  persons  of  Pro- 
fessors Clarke ,  Appleton ,  Williams ,  Poland ,  Packard ,  Davis , 
Bailey, Upton,  Chapin,andInstructor  Randall.  Mostof  these 
experienced  teachers  already  held  full  professorships,  and 

C  440  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  others  were  soon  promoted.  Professor  Poland  was  made 
associate  professor  of  Greek  and  curator  of  the  museum  of 
classical  archaeology  in  1889,  and  professor  of  the  history 
of  art  in  1892,  a  position  for  w  hich  he  was  jjeculiarly  fitted 
by  his  prolonged  study  of  classical  literature  and  art  and  by 
his  residence  in  Greece  in  189 1-92  as  director  of  the  Ameri- 
can School  of  Classical  Studies  in  Athens.  Professor  Da\  is, 
long  a  mainstay  of  the  department  of  mathematics  by  rea- 
son of  his  vigor  and  skill  as  a  teacher,  became  associate  pro- 
fessor in  1889,  and  professor  the  next  year.  Mr.  Randall  w  as 
promoted  to  be  assistant  professor  of  mathematics  and  ci\  il 
engineering  in  1891,  associate  professor  of  mechanical  draw- 
ing in  1892,  and  professor  in  1896.  To  this  Faculty  Presi- 
dent Andrews  rapidly  added  new  men  ;  and  the  success  of 
his  administration  was  due  largely  to  his  gift  for  selecting 
colleagues  full  of  zeal  and  ideas,  many  of  them  his  former 
pupils  or  friends  and  animated  by  a  like  spirit  with  himself. 
Two  of  the  new  teachers  had  been  added  in  President 
Robinson's  last  year.  John  F.  Jameson,  A. B.  (Amherst), 
Ph .  D .  (Johns  Hopkins) ,  became  professor  of  h istory  in  1 8  8  8 ; 
he  stimulated  scientific  historical  research  by  his  advanced 
pupils,  besides  raising  the  general  level  of  historical  study 
in  the  university ;  from  1901  to  1905  he  was  head  of  the  de- 
partment of  history  in  the  University  of  Chicago,  and  since 
then  has  been  director  of  the  department  of  historical  re- 
search in  the  Carnegie  Institution  at  Washington  ;  w  hile  at 
Brown  he  became  editor  of  The  American  Historical Revknv ^ 
published  The  History  of  Historical  IVrithiir  m  America  and 
Dictionary  of  United  States  History^  and  edited  the  corre- 
spondence of  Calhoun.  Henry  B.  Gardner,  A.B.  (Brown), 
Ph.D.  (Johns  Hopkins),  was  appointed  instructor  in  politi- 
cal economy  in  1888,  associate  professor  in  1890,  and  pro- 
fessor in  1898;  he  has  been  a  vice-president  of  the  Ameri- 

C  441    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

can  Economic  Association  and  a  member  of  its  executive 
committee;  since  1904,  while  retaining  his  professorship, 
he  has  been  directing  the  research  work  in  federal  and  state 
finance  for  the  Carnegie  Institution  at  Washington. 

James  Seth,  A.M.  (University  of  Edinburgh),  was  called 
to  Brown  University  in  1892  as  associate  professor  of  nat- 
ural theology,  becoming  professor  of  philosophy  and  natural 
theology  in  1894;  he  accepted  the  professorship  of  moral 
philosophy  in  Cornell  University  in  1896,  and  since  1898 
has  held  the  same  chair  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh; 
even  his  brief  stay  at  Brown  was  a  great  inspiration  to  philo- 
sophical study.  He  was  succeeded  by  Walter  G.  Everett, 
A.B.,  Ph.D.  (Brown),  who  studied  in  Germany  in  1895- 
96;  he  was  associate  professor  of  philosophy  from  1894  to 
1899,  when  he  became  professor;  in  the  absence  of  Presi- 
dent Faunce  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year  1912-13, 
he  served  as  acting  president.  The  modern  study  of  psy- 
chology at  Brown  University  began  with  the  appointment  of 
Edmund  B.  Delabarre,  A.B.  (Amherst),  A.M.  (Harvard), 
Ph.D.  (Freiburg),  as  associate  professor  of  psychology  in 
1891;  he  was  promoted  to  the  professorship  in  1896;  in 
1896-97,  during  Professor  Miinsterberg's  absence,  he  was 
director  of  the  Harvard  psychological  laboratory.  The  chair 
of  "didactics,"  renamed  and  remodeled,  was  again  placed 
in  the  Faculty  row  in  1893,  and  filled  by  Walter  B.  Jacobs, 
A.B.,  A.M.  (Brown),  as  instructor  in  pedagogy,  who  be- 
came associate  professor  in  1895  and  professor  of  education 
in  1901. 

Albert  G.Harkness,  A.  B.,  A.M.  (Brown),  the  son  of  Pro- 
fessor Harkness,  after  study  in  Germany  in  1881-83  and 
a  professorship  in  Madison  University,  returned  to  Brown 
as  associate  professor  of  Latin  in  1889,  and  succeeded  to  the 
chair  of  Professor  Lincoln  in  1893;  he  was  resident  pro- 

[   442   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

fessor  in  the  American  Scliool  for  Classical  Studies  in  Rome 
in  1902-03.  The  new  prof essor  ot" Greek  ^\as  James  Irving 
Manatt,  A.B.  (Iowa),  Ph.D.  (Yale),  LL.D.  (Iowa),  who, 
after  professorships  in  Denison  University  and  Marietta 
College,  was  chancellor  of  the  Uni^■ersity  of  Nebraska  from 
1884  to  1889,  and  then  consul  at  Athens  for  four  years, 
coming  to  Bro\\  n  in  1893;  in  collaboration  w  ith  Dr.  Tsoun- 
tas  he  brought  out  The  Mycenaean  Age  in  1897,  and  has 
recently  published  Aegean  Days  at  the  press  of  John  Mur- 
ray, London.  The  department  of  Greek  had  pre\i()usly  l)een 
strengthened  by  the  appointment  of  Charles  E.  Bennett, 
A.B.  (Brown),  as  professor  of  classical  philology  in  1891; 
his  resignation  at  the  end  of  the  year,  to  accept  a  professor- 
ship in  Cornell  University,  left  a  vacancy  which  m  as  filled 
by  the  appointment  of  Francis  G.  Allinson,  A.B.  (Haver- 
ford  and  Harvard),  Ph.D.  (Johns  Hopkins),  as  associate 
professor  of  Greek  in  1895  and  as  professor  of  classical  phi- 
lology in  1898  ;  in  1910-11  he  was  the  resident  professor 
in  the  American  School  of  Classical  Studies  in  Athens ;  he 
published  selections  from  Lucian  in  1905,  Greek  Lands  and 
Letters  (with  Mrs.  Allinson)  in  1909,  and  is  now  editing 
and  translating  Menander  for  the  Loeb  Classical  Library. 
The  first  teacher  in  the  new  department  of  Semitics, 
James  R.  Jewett,  A.B.  (Harvard),  Ph.D.  (Strasburg),  after 
three  years  in  the  Orient  and  a  year  as  instructor  in  Semitic 
languages  at  Harvard,  came  to  Brown  in  1890  as  instructor, 
and  was  made  associate  professor  the  next  year  ;  in  1895  he 
resigned  to  take  a  professorship  in  the  University  of  Minne- 
sota. His  successor,  Charles  F.  Kent,  A.B.,  Ph.D.  (Yale), 
after  two  years  as  instructor  in  the  University  of  Chicago, 
became  associate  professor  of  biblical  literature  and  history 
at  Brown  in  1895,  was  promoted  to  the  professorship  in 
1898,  and  resigned  in  1901  to  take  a  similar  position  at 

C   443    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Yale;  while  at  Brown  he  began  his  career  as  a  prolific  author 
by  publishing  seven  books. 

Before  the  death  of  Professor  Bancroft  the  department 
of  English  had  been  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  Lorenzo 
Sears,  A. B. (Yale),  recently  professor  of  English  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vermont;  he  was  made  associate  professor  of  rhet- 
oric at  Brown  in  1890,  and  associate  professor  of  Ameri- 
can Hterature  in  1895,  retiring  in  1906;  he  is  the  author  of 
books  on  oratory,  literary  criticism,  American  literature,  and 
American  public  men.  John  M.  Manly,  A.B.  (Furman), 
Ph.D.  (Harvard),  Mas  appointed  associate  professor  of  the 
EngHsh  language  in  1891,  becoming  professor  the  next  year; 
in  1898  he  went  to  the  University  of  Chicago  as  head  of  the 
English  department ;  he  first  brought  to  Brown  the  modern 
methods  of  teaching  English  philology,  and  while  here  pub- 
lished two  of  the  works  ^^■hich  have  brought  him  interna- 
tional reputation  as  an  English  scholar.  Walter  C.  Bron- 
son,  A.B.  (Brown),  A.M.  (Cornell),  Litt.D.  (Colby),  after 
two  years  as  professor  of  English  at  De  Pauw  University, 
returned  to  Brown  as  associate  professor  of  English  litera- 
ture in  1892,  becoming  professor  in  1895  ;  he  is  the  author 
of  a  short  history  of  American  literature,  and  the  editor  of 
several  volumes  of  English  and  American  verse  and  prose. 
Hammond  Lamont,  A.B.  (Harvard),  instructor  in  EngHsh 
at  Harvard  in  1892-95,  came  to  Brown  as  associate  pro- 
fessor of  rhetoric  in  1895,  and  was  made  professor  in  1898; 
in  1900  he  left  the  university  to  become  managing  editor 
of  the  New  York  Evening  Post;  at  his  death  in  1909  he  was 
editor  of  The  JVation;  under  his  rigorous  and  stimulating 
discipline,  modern  methods  of  teaching  English  composi- 
tion became  a  strong  factor  in  the  Brown  curriculum. 

Wilfred  H.  Munro,  A.B.,  A.M.  (Brown),  president  of 
De  Veaux  College  from  1881  to  1889,  and  historical  stu- 

C   444   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

dent  in  the  United  States  and  Germany  in  1889-91,  l)e- 
came  associate  professor  of  history  in  1891  and  professor 
of  European  history  in  1899,  retiring  as  professor  emeritus 
in  191 1 ;  he  edited  Prescott's  works  in  1905-06.  George  G. 
Wilson,  A. B.,  Ph.D.  (Brown),  after  study  in  Berlin,  Paris, 
and  Oxford,  was  appointed  associate  j^rofessor  of  social 
and  political  science  in  1891,  professor  in  1894;  in  1910 
he  accepted  the  chair  of  international  law  in  Harvard  Uni- 
versity; in  1908  he  was  a  representative  of  the  United 
States  at  the  Conference  of  London  ;  he  is  the  author  of 
several  books  and  encyclopaedia  articles  on  international 
law.  James  Q.  Dealey,  A.B.,  Ph.D.  (Brown),  became  as- 
sistant professor  in  the  same  department  in  1895,  associ- 
ate professor  in  1898,  professor  in  1905  ;  he  has  published 
several  books  on  sociology. 

Instruction  in  the  Germanic  languages  was  extended  by 
the  appointment  of  Asa  C.  Crowell,  A.  B.,  Ph.D.  (Brown), 
as  instructor  in  1892,  assistant  professor  in  1894,  associ- 
ate professor  in  1901 ;  and  of  Adrian  Scott,  A.B.,  Ph.D. 
(Brown),  as  instructor  in  1891,  associate  professor  of  Ger- 
manic philology  and  Scandinavian  during  1894-96.  The 
head  of  the  new  department  of  Romance  languages,  Court- 
ney Langdon,  A.B.  (Brown,  honorary,  1891),  after  three 
years  of  study  in  Harvard  and  six  years  as  instructor  in 
Cornell  University,  became  assistant  professor  at  Brown  in 
1890,  associate  professor  in  1892,  and  professor  in  1899; 
he  is  now  publishing  at  the  Harvard  University  Press  a 
translation  of  Dante. 

The  department  of  mathematics  was  strengthened  by  the 
appointment  of  Henry  P.  Manning,  A.B.  (Brown),  Ph.D. 
(Johns  Hopkins),  as  instructor  in  1891,  assistant  professor 
in  1895,  and  associate  professor  in  1906;  he  is  the  author 
of  several  books  on  the  higher  mathematics.  John  E.  Hill, 

C  445   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

B.S.  (Rutgers),  M.C.E.  (Cornell),  instructor  in  Cornell  for 
four  years,  was  appointed  instructor  in  civil  engineering 
at  Brown  in  1894,  associate  professor  in  1895,  professor  in 
1898. 

Professor  Blake' s  successor  was  Carl  Barus,  Ph .  D .  ( Wurz- 
burg),  physicist  in  the  United  States  geological  survey  for 
twelve  years,  and  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  two 
years,  whence  he  came  to  Brown  as  professor  of  physics  in 

1895  ;  he  is  the  author  of  numberless  scientific  publications, 
was  awarded  the  Rumford  medal  in  1900  for  his  researches 
in  heat,  A\'as  president  of  the  American  Physical  Society  in 
1904,  and  is  an  honorary  member  of  the  Royal  Institu- 
tion of  Great  Britain.  His  colleague,  Albert  DeF.  Palmer, 
Ph.B.,  Ph.D.  (Brown),  graduate  student  at  Johns  Hopkins 
in  1891-93,  was  appointed  instructor  in  1893  and  associ- 
ate professor  in  1896. 

Hermon  C.  Bumpus,  Ph.B.  (Brown),  Ph.D.  (Clark), be- 
came assistant  professor  of  zoology  in  1890,  associate  pro- 
fessor in  1891,  and  professor  of  comparative  anatomy  in 
1892 ;  in  1902  he  resigned  to  be  director  of  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History  in  New  York.  From  1893  to 

1896  he  was  assisted  by  George  W.  Field,  A.B.  (Brown), 
Ph.D.  (Johns  Hopkins),  an  associate  professor  of  cellular 
biology;  and  from  1895  to  1901  by  Albert  D.  Mead,  A.B. 
(Middlebury),  Ph.D.  (Chicago),  who  became  instructor  in 
comparative  anatomy  in  1895,  associate  professor  of  embry- 
ology and  neurology  in  1896,  and  succeeded  to  the  professor- 
ship of  comparative  anatomy  in  1901. 

The  successor  of  Dr.  Guild  as  librarian  was  Harry  L. 
Koopman,  A.B.  (Colby),  A.M. (Harvard), Litt.D.  (Colby), 
trained  in  modern  library  methods  in  the  Astor  Library  and 
at  Cornell  and  Columbia. 

In  the  department  of  military  drill,  established  in  1892 
C   446   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  belated  fulfillment  of  the  terms  of  the  Morrill  land-grant 
fund  in  1863,  the  university  had  the  servicesof  three  United 
States  Army  officers  as  professors  of  military  tactics  :  Lieu- 
tenant William  C.  Pardee,  1892-95  ;  Lieutenant  John  Bax- 
ter, 1895-96  ;  and  Captain  Cunliffe  H.  Murray,  1896-98. 

The  office  of  registrar  was  held  from  1889  to  1891  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  C.  Stockbridge,  A.B.,  A.M.  (Brown); 
he  was  succeeded  by  Frederick  T.  Guild,  Ph.B.,  A.M. 
(Brown),  who  still  fills  the  position. 

The  infusion  of  all  this  new  blood  into  the  veins  of  the 
old  college  was  a  source  of  immense  \igor.  The  Faculty  was 
now  not  only  larger,  but  contained  a  far  greater  pro|)ortion 
of  highly  trained  specialists,  men  of  varying  types  of  mind 
and  coming  from  different  universities  and  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country.  The  range  and  depth  of  instruction 
offered  had  never  been  approached  before  in  the  history  of 
the  institution  ;  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  increasing  numbers 
of  students  came,  and  that  more  and  more  remained  for 
graduate  study.  The  work  that  the  Faculty  were  doing, 
furthermore,  was  now  set  forth  to  greater  advantage  in  the 
pages  of  the  catalogue,  which  also  had  been  touched  and 
revivified  by  the  shaping  hand  of  the  President.  The  courses 
were  grouped  by  departments  as  well  as  by  years,  and  the 
extent  to  which  study  could  be  pursued  along  any  one  line 
was  now  patent  at  a  glance.  \  arious  other  changes  in  the 
substance  and  form  of  the  catalogue  helped  to  make  it  more 
attractive  than  formerly. 

Three  phases  of  the  expansion  of  the  work  of  the  uni- 
versity call  for  special  notice.  The  first  two  ^\•ere  realizations 
on  a  larger  scale  of  ideals  cherished  by  President  Wayland. 
The  third  he  dreamed  not  of. 

The  course  in  civil  engineering,  established  as  a  part  of 
the  New  System  in  1850,  had  never  been  given  up  except 

C   447   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

for  a  short  time  under  President  Sears,  while  in  the  next 
two  administrations  it  had  some  growth ;  under  President 
Andre\\'s  it  was  greatly  expanded.  A  course  leading  to  the 
degree  of  Civil  Engineer  was  opened  in  1891,  and  one  lead- 
ing to  the  degree  of  Mechanical  Engineer  in  1892.  The  en- 
trance requirements  for  these  courses  were  rather  low ,  con- 
sisting of  the  mathematics,  English,  French,  and  Greek  and 
Roman  history  required  for  admission  to  the  Bachelor  of  Arts 
course.  Each  engineering  course  covered  four  years,  and  in- 
cluded both  theoretical  and  practical  work,  although  the 
latter  was  limited  for  some  years  because  of  insufficient  ap- 
paratus and  laboratory  facilities.  A  course  for  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Science  was  also  opened  in  1891 ,  and  the  degree 
was  first  granted  in  1897. 

University  Extension,  though  not  by  that  name,  had  been 
one  of  President  Wayland's  democratic  plans;  but  he  had 
been  unable  to  carry  it  out  on  any  large  scale.  A  few  years  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  President  Andrews's  administration  a 
carefully  organized  movement  for  bringing  some  of  the  bene- 
fits of  university  study  to  outside  circles  gained  great  head- 
way in  England,  and  soon  spread  to  this  country,  where  it 
was  first  taken  up  by  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Brown 
University  entered  the  field  in  1890-91,  giving  four  courses 
in  the  winter  and  spring  of  that  year.  Professor  Munro  was 
then  appointed  director,  and  organized  thirty-five  courses 
for  1891-92,  which  were  attended  by  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred persons  in  sixteen  towns  and  cities.  The  courses  were 
self-supporting,  admission  fees  paying  for  the  lectures  and 
other  expenses.  One  of  the  Providence  courses,  on  practical 
physics,  attended  by  workmen  from  the  Browne  and  Sharpe 
Manufacturing  Company,  recalls  the  days  of  Professor 
Chace's  lectures  to  metal-workers  in  1853.  "Its  sessions," 
says  Professor  Munro,"  were  held  in  the  great  lecture  room 

[   448    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

in  Wilson  Hall.  They  were  very  largely  attended,  and  ex- 
cited so  much  interest  that  a  second  class,  in  Klectricitv, 
was  organized  by  the  same  men."  In  1892-93  thirty-eigiit 
courses  were  given,  with  an  attendance  of  some  two  thou- 
sand. This  was  the  high  tide  of  the  movement  atBrow  n  Uni- 
versity. Financial  depression  during  the  next  few  years,  and 
a  waning  of  interest  on  the  part  of  lecturers  and  classes  as 
the  novelty  wore  off,  resulted  in  a  steady  decline ;  in  1898-99 
no  courses  were  given,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  Professor 
Munro  resigned  his  directorship.  A  somenhat  similar  se- 
ries of  lectures  had  been  started  in  1888-89,  bv  the  Brown 
University  Historical  and  Economic  Association  (after  1892 
called  the  Brown  University  Lecture  Association),  organ- 
ized by  Professor  Jameson  and  comprising  citizens  of  Pro\i- 
dence,  resident  graduates,  and  members  of  the  senior  class. 
Lectures  on  a  wide  range  of  subjects  were  given  each  win- 
ter for  several  years,  in  Manning  or  Sayles  Hall,  by  the 
professors  of  the  university  and  scholars  from  a  distance, 
and  were  attended  by  large  numbers  of  students  and  towns- 
people. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  phases  of  the  recent  develop- 
ment of  Brown  University  is  the  origin  and  growth  of  the 
Women's  College.  In  this  movement  President  Andrews 
had  a  leading  part,  but  the  beginnings  of  it  lie  farther  back. 
For  the  first  hundred  years, -it  is  true,  no  one  in  authority 
seems  to  have  given  a  thought  to  opening  the  university  to 
women,  although  the  seniors  in  their  Commencement  parts 
sometimes  approached  the  subject,  as  in  "A  Dissertation  in 
Favor  of  Female  Education ' '  in  1796,  or  presented  thoughts 
having  a  collateral  bearing  on  the  subject,  as  in  a  disserta- 
tion in  1812  on  "The  rank  of  the  Fair  Sex  in  the  scale  of 
being. ' '  Credit  for  squarel  v  facing  the  problem  belongs,  how- 
ever, to  the  college  branch  of  the  Philandrian  Society,  who 

C   449   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

at  their  first  meeting,  in  1800,  debated  the  question,  "Would 
it  be  good  policy  to  allow  females  in  the  United  States  an 
Education  equal  to  the  males?"  But  the  centenary  of  the 
founding  of  the  college  had  hardly  passed  before  the  ques- 
tion of  higher  education  for  women  in  Rhode  Island  began 
to  be  discussed,  the  establishment  of  women's  colleges  in  the 
East  and  the  spread  of  co-education  in  the  West  forcing  the 
matter  on  the  attention  of  thoughtful  men  and  women. 

The  problem  seems  to  have  first  come  before  the  univer- 
sity in  a  semi-official  way  at  the  alumni  meeting  in  1869, 
when  a  committee  submitted  the  following  as  one  of  their 
' ' most  important  recommendations "  :  "In  these  days  it 
may  not  be  premature  to  inquire,  whether  a  college  which 
justly  prides  itself  in  the  possession  of  an  eminently  liberal 
charter,  should  not  open  its  doors  to  the  admission  of  women, 
so  that  students  of  both  sexes  might  within  its  halls,  share 
together  all  its  advantages  of  education."  At  Commence- 
ment in  1870  President  James  B.  Angell,  of  the  University 
of  Vermont,  in  his  address  before  the  alumni  touched  on  the 
question,  saying  that  it  must ' '  receive  much  fuller  discussion 
at  the  east  than  it  has  yet  received. ' '  The  next  year  the  mat- 
ter came  directly  before  the  governing  board  of  the  univer- 
sity. "The  President  informed  the  Corporation,"  run  the 
minutes  of  September  6,  1871,  "that  there  had  been  three 
applications  for  young  \Aomen  to  enter  college  and  pursue 
the  studies  usually  allotted  to  young  men.  After  some  little 
discussion  of  the  subject  it  was  Voted  to  lay  it  on  the  table. ' ' 
In  the  spring  of  1874  a  young  woman  boldly  claimed  for 
the  "fair  sex"  a  high  "rank  in  the  scale  of  being"  by 
applying  for  admission  to  Brown  University;  in  reply  the 
Advisory  and  Executive  Committee  resolved,  at  a  meeting 
on  April  10,  that  they  were  "not  prepared  to  recommend 
the  opening  of  the  College  for  the  admission  of  young 

[  450   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

women  as  students,"  and  the  Corporation  approved  die 
resolution  at  their  meeting  in  June. 

The  re^'ival  of  the  subject  se\'en  years  later  seems  to 
have  been  due  to  the  Quaker  members  of  the  Corporation. 
The  poet  Whittier,  a  trustee,  wrote  to  a  Providence  lady  in 
the  summer  of  1881,  "I  shall  be  glad  to  do  all  in  my  power 
to  open  the  doors  of  Brown  Uni\ersity  to  ^\■omen."  In  an 
inclosed  note  for  Richard  Atwater,  another  Quaker  trustee, 
he  said:  "I  hope  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  Brown 
University  will  be  open  to  \\oman.  The  traditions  of  the 
noble  old  institution  are  all  in  favor  of  broad  liberality 
and  equality  of  rights  and  pri\ileges.  .  .  .  Brow  n  Uni\er- 
sity  cannot  aftbrd  to  hesitate  much  longer  in  a  matter,  like 
this,  of  simple  justice."  Meanwhile  various  organizations 
of  Rhode  Island  Momen  helped  in  quiet  ways  to  keep  the 
matter  before  the  college;  and  in  June,  1885,  the  Corpora- 
tion took  their  first  favorable  action,  appointing  a  commit- 
tee to  consider  and  report  "what,  if  any,  facilities  should 
be  offered  by  this  University  for  the  higher  education  of 
women."  The  committee  reported  at  the  September  meet- 
ing, recommending  "that  the  Faculty  allow  the  attendance 
of  women  at  the  regular  entrance  and  term  examinations 
of  the  University,  and  that  certificates  of  standing  in  each 
examination  be  issued  to  the  applicants."  The  report  was 
recommitted  for  further  consideration. 

The  situation  as  it  lay  in  the  minds  of  the  majority  of  the 
Corporation  and  Faculty  at  this  time  is  fairly  stated  by  Presi- 
dent Robinson  in  his  report  in  June,  1886.  He  first  gives 
reasons  against  co-education  at  Brown:  the  buildings  "are 
not  so  constructed  as  to  furnish  the  requisite  accommoda- 
tions for  young  women,  and  cannot  without  great  expense  be 
so  changed  as  to  fit  them  for  use  by  both  sexes ' ' ;  many  per- 
sons in  the  community  object  to  co-education  on  moral  and 

C   451    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

intellectual  grounds,  thinking  that  the  sexes  had  better  be 
educated  apart  at  "the  inflammable  age,"  and  that  women 
need  a  different  training  from  that  of  men.  He  then  states 
the  other  side  with  equal  fairness  and  force:  Rhode  Island 
has  an  increasing  number  of  young  women,  graduates  of 
high  schools,  who  wish  to  fit  themselves  for  the  higher  posi- 
tions as  teachers  or  for  the  largest  usefulness  in  society;  by 
experience  in  the  schools  they  are  prepared  to  meet  the  dan- 
gers of  co-education  in  college;  many  of  them  cannot  afford 
to  go  away  from  home,  and  therefore  they  expect  Brown 
University,  as  the  only  Rhode  Island  college,  to  admit  them 
to  equal  privileges  with  their  brothers.  President  Robin- 
son adds,  "The  plea  thus  presented  is  not  a  weak' one."  He 
then  offers  a  compromise  plan,  somewhat  like  that  finally 
adopted,  as  follows: 

I  would  recommend  .  .  .  that  the  following  experimental  provision 
be  attempted :  That  young  women  be  admitted  by  us  on  the  same  con- 
ditions as  young  men;  that  instruction  be  given  them  separately, 
during  their  first  year  in  college,  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  the  recita- 
tion rooms  of  Savles  Hall,  which  during  the  afternoon  shall  be  given 
up  to  their  exclusive  use;  that  instruction  shall  be  given  them  by  such 
members  of  the  Faculty  as  shall  be  willing  to  undertake  the  service, 
and  that  the  compensation  for  this  service  shall  be  derived  from,  and 
consist  of,  a  pro  rata  distribution  of  the  tuition  received  from  the 
members  of  the  class.  ...  As  to  what  should  be  done  in  fixture  years, 
all  might  safely,  it  seems  to  me,  be  left  to  be  determined  by  the  results 
of  a  first  year's  experiment.  .  .  .  My  own  present  impressions  are  in 
favor  of  a  distinct  but  appended  college,  some  of  whose  professors 
should  be  women  of  the  highest  culture,  and  members  of  whose  higher 
classes  should  be  admitted  to  the  higher  elective  classes  of  the  Uni- 
versity. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Corporation  in  September,  1886, 
this  plan  was  first  approved  by  the  Corporation,  and  then 
postponed  for  further  consideration.  The  next  year  Dr.  Rob- 
inson reported  that  four  young  women  had  sent  him  a  letter 

[   452   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

asking  if  Brown  University  would  admit  them  to  its  courses 
of  study,  and  renewed  his  recommendation.  Thereupon,  at 
the  September  meeting  of  the  Corporation,  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  consider  the  problem  and  report  later.  This 
committee,  through  the  chairman,  Professor  Gammell,  at 
the  September  meeting  in  1888,  presented  a  very  able  re- 
port. "In  the  nature  of  things,"  they  said,  "there  is  no 
substantial  reason  why  the  higher  intellectual  training  of 
young  women  should  be  essentially  different  from  that  of 
young  men.  .  .  .  The  noticeable  fact  is  that  whenever  pro- 
visions of  any  kind  have  been  made  for  the  higher  training 
of  young  women  by  means  of  College  studies,  the  results 
have  been  uniformly  advantageous.  The  young  women  have 
always  gained  &  the  young  men  have  not  lost,  by  w  hat 
has  been  done.  The  time  probably  is  not  distant  when  the 
whole  question  will  cease  to  be  a  matter  of  discussion,  since 
the  higher  education  of  women  will,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
no  longer  be  different  from  that  given  to  young  men  at  our 
best  schools  of  learning  of  every  name."  Nevertheless  the 
committee  advised  against  opening  Brown  University  to 
women  at  that  time,  because  the  demand  seemed  insuffi- 
cient, the  college  buildings  were  not  adapted  for  co-educa- 
tional classes,  and  the  Faculty  were  lukewarm  on  the  sub- 
ject. They  did  recommend,  however,  that  as  a  preliminary 
step  the  Faculty  be  asked  to  prepare  a  scheme  by  which 
w^omen  might  be  admitted  to  college  examinations  and  re- 
ceive certificates  of  proficiency.  The  Corporation  approved, 
and  here  the  matter  rested  for  a  time. 

Soon  after  the  election  of  President  Andrews,  who  was 
known  to  be  a  warm  friend  to  the  higher  education  of  \\o- 
men,  a  committee  of  Rhode  Island  women  consulted  w  ith 
him  on  the  situation,  and  by  his  advice  an  attempt  was  made 
to  raise  at  least  a  small  fund;  little  came  of  it,  but  the  Rhode 

C  455   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Island  Women's  Club  voted  to  found  a  scholarship  for  wo- 
men as  soon  as  they  should  be  admitted  to  the  university. 
On  February  11,  1890,  the  Faculty  adopted  for  submission 
to  the  Corporation,  in  response  to  their  vote  of  1888,  a  plan 
regarding  examinations  for  women ;  and  this  was  presented 
to  that  body  in  the  autumn.  It  admitted  women  to  entrance 
examinations  at  the  same  times  and  places  as  men;  spe- 
cified that  they  might  take  college  examinations  at  the  col- 
lege, the  examinations  to  be  identical  with  those  for  men  or 
closely  similar;  and  provided  for  certificates  of  attainment. 
The  report  ended  with  a  statement  that  if  the  Corporation 
adopted  the  plan,  the  Faculty  would  "cordially  execute  the 
same  to  the  best  of  their  ability, ' '  but  that  in  their  judgment 
it  gave  undue  prominence  to  examinations  in  the  system 
of  college  education.  The  Corporation  approved  the  plan 
a  year  later,  on  September  2,  1891;  in  the  following  June 
the  Board  of  Fellows  recognized  women  as  candidates  for 
all  degrees,  and  the  Corporation  admitted  women  graduate 
students  to  the  university  class-rooms. 

The  barriers  once  removed,  the  young  women  of  the  state 
soon  gave  proof  that  there  was  demand  enough  for  the  higher 
education  of  women  in  Rhode  Island.  The  women  under- 
graduates increased  from  7  in  1891-92  to  157  in  1896-97  ; 
while  the  graduate  women  students  in  the  latter  year  num- 
bered 31,  of  whom  21  held  degrees  from  other  colleges. 
The  problem  was  not  to  get  students  but  to  provide  quar- 
ters and  instruction  for  them.  During  the  first  term  of  the 
first  year  the  classes  met  in  the  University  Grammar  School, 
in  the  early  afternoon,  and,  as  there  were  no  lights  in  the 
school,  in  President  Andrews's  office  in  University  Hall  when 
the  darkness  fell ;  during  the  second  and  third  terms  the 
Normal  School  building  on  Benefit  Street  was  courteously 
opened  to  them.  The  instruction  was  given  by  members  of 

C   454   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  Brown  Faculty,  but  \\as  paid  for  wholly  i)y  fees.  The 
classes  had  no  official  relation  to  the  university,  which  had 
as  yet  merely  opened  its  examinations  to  u  omen  ;  formallv 
the class-room  work  was  private  "coaching"  for  the  exam- 
inations, but  in  reality  it  u  as  identical  with  the  instruction 
given  to  men  in  the  same  courses. 

From  1892  to  1897  the  classes  met  in  a  small  wooden 
building  on  Benefit  Street,  near  the  corner  of  College  Street, 
which  had  been  the  home  of  a  high  school  for  girls  from 
1828  to  1877,  Professor  Lincoln  being  its  principal  during 
the  years  1859-67.  These  quarters  were  soon  outgrown, 
and  the  students  swarmed  in  the  halluays  and  even  on  the 
stairs,  the  latter  being  the  only  seats  available  for  some  dur- 
ing study  hours.  But  in  these  cramped  rooms  much  excel- 
lent work  was  done.  The  average  standing  of  the  women 
students  w^as  regularly  higher  than  that  of  the  men  in  corre- 
sponding classes,  and  some  of  them  showed  marked  ability 
for  independent,  original  work.  The  report  of  the  new  pro- 
fessor of  physics  for  1895-96  is  especially  significant  on 
this  point.  "I  wish  in  particular,"  he  wrote,  "to  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  uniformly  admirable  work  done  b}-  the  wo- 
men. I  began  the  course  of  lectures  to  the  Women's  Col- 
lege with  diffidence,  believing  that  the  mind  of  woman  is 
not,  as  a  rule,  of  a  kind  to  be  willingly  tethered  by  exact 
considerations  of  the  material  universe.  But  I  found  neither 
lack  of  aptitude  nor  of  grasp." 

Two  women  graduated  in  1894  :  Anne  T.  Weeden,  \\  ho 
took  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  four  years  later,  studied 
in  Germany,  and  has  long  held  an  honored  place  among 
the  teachers  in  the  Providence  high  schools,  besides  con- 
tributing in  other  ways  to  the  intellectual  culture  of  the  city; 
and  Mary  E.  Woolley,  who  proceeded  to  the  Master  of  Arts 
degree  the  next  year,  became  instructor  and  professor  in 

C  455   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Wellesley  College,  and  since  1900  has  been  president  of 
Mount  Holyoke  College.  Of  the  other  women  graduates  in 
these  early  years,  nearly  all  have  filled  positions  in  schools, 
libraries,  or  other  institutions  of  high  responsibility  and 
influence — including  the  home. 

The  success  of  the  movement  during  these  years  of  ex- 
perimentwas  due  first  of  all  to  President  Andrews,  the  strong 
prop  and  inspiring  soul  of  the  whole.  He  found  an  efficient 
helper  in  Louis  F.  Snow,  a  recent  graduate  of  Brown  and 
Harvard,  and  instructor  in  elocution  in  the  university  from 
1890  to  1892,  who  was  appointed  dean  of  the  Women's  Col- 
lege in  1892,  and  by  his  business  ability,  tact,  and  unfail- 
ing courtesy  did  much  to  make  straight  and  smooth  the  path 
of  the  institution  along  its  untried  way.  The  members  of 
the  Faculty  also  proved  to  be  less  indifferent  than  had  been 
supposed,  many  of  them  readily  undertaking  the  addi- 
tional labor  and  receiving  the  additional  compensation.  The 
number  of  courses  given  increased  with  the  growth  in 
attendance,  until  in  1896-97  they  numbered  thirty-one 
year-courses,  taught  by  seventeen  professors  and  eight  in- 
structors, and  representing  fifteen  of  the  twenty-five  depart- 
ments in  the  university. 

Such  life  as  this  was  sure  to  get  for  itself  means  of  sub- 
sistence. "So  important  and  so  interesting  is  this  cause," 
wrote  President  Andrews  in  his  report  for  1891-92,  "I  can- 
not think  that  the  half  million  dollars  needed  to  erect  as  part 
of  Brown  University  a  thoroughly  equipped  Woman's  Col- 
lege will  be  long  withheld."  His  robust  optimism  outran 
the  facts,  but  a  beginning  was  soon  made.  During  the  next 
year  the  Rhode  Island  Women's  Club  provided  an  annual 
scholarship  of  $50;  and  the  pupils  of  Miss  Sarah  E.  Doyle 
—  a  teacher  in  the  Providence  schools  from  1846,  in  the  high 
school  from  1859,  and  principal  of  the  girls'  department 

C  456  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

of  the  latter  from  1878  to  1892  —  gave  to  the  university  a 
scholarship  fund  of  $1000  bearing  her  name.  It  was  not 
until  1895,  however,  that  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  to  raise 
funds  for  the  erection  of  a  college  building.  At  the  sugges- 
tion of  Dr.  Andrew  s  a  large  committee  was  then  organized, 
with  Miss  Doyle  as  chairman,  and  in  spite  of  financial  de- 
pression a  considerable  simi  was  soon  subscribed,  Andrew 
Comstock  and  Jesse  Metcalf  being  among  the  chief  donors. 
The  committee  w^as  incorporated,  on  September  14,  1896, 
as  the  Rhode  Island  Society  for  the  Collegiate  Education  of 
Women,  with  Miss  Doyle  as  president,  and  took  charge  of 
the  erection  of  the  new^  building,  which  was  situated  on  land 
owned  by  the  Corporation  on  Meeting  Street,  a  fe^\  rods 
north  of  the  university  grounds.  The  Corporation  at  their 
June  meeting  had  meanwhile  voted  to  establish  "a  depart- 
ment of  the  University  to  be  known  as  the  Women's  Col- 
lege in  Brow^n  University,"  under  the  general  direction  of 
the  president  and  the  immediate  charge  of  a  dean,  further 
providing  that  the  instruction  should  be  given  by  the  univer- 
sity professors  and  instructors ;  at  graduation  its  students 
were,  as  before,  to  receive  their  degrees  from  the  unixersity. 
Thus  was  realized  the  ideal  which  President  Andrew  s  had 
set  forth  in  his  report  of  1892-93,  in  which  he  said:  "No 
mere  'annex '  is  desired  or  intended.  The  College  must  be 
part  and  parcel  of  the  University,  giving  women  students 
the  full  university  status."  The  votes  of  the  Corporation 
were  not  to  go  into  eifect  until  the  building  then  contemplated 
had  been  finished  and  given  to  the  university.  This  was  done 
in  1897,  w  hen  Pembroke  Hall,  named  after  the  college  in 
Cambridge  University  founded  by  the  Countess  of  Pembroke 
and  attended  by  Roger  Williams,  was  dedicated  on  Novem- 
ber 22,  with  appropriate  exercises,  including  addresses  by 
Miss  Doyle,  Dean  Emily  J.  Smith,  of  Barnard  College,  and 

C   457   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

President  Andrews.  The  building,  which  cost  $38,000, 
was  of  red  brick  with  stone  and  terra-cotta  trimmings,  in  the 
English  university  style  of  the  sixteenth  century;  besides 
recitation  rooms,  a  library  (beautifully  finished  through  the 
generosity  of  Miss  Amelia  S.  Knight),  and  a  large  assem- 
bly room,  it  contained  offices  for  the  dean,  a  lunch  room,  a 
rest  room,  lockers,  etc. ,  being  skillfully  planned  for  the  vari- 
ous purposes,  intellectual  and  social,  to  which  it  was  to  be 
put.  In  this  building  the  Women's  College  found  a  suitable 
home,  where  the  students  could  have  their  separate  social 
life  and  receive  instruction  in  separate  classes,  and  yet  be  in 
and  of  the  university.  This  scheme  of  an  affiliated,  not  an 
appended,  college,  which  is  expressed  in  the  name  '  The 
Women's  College  in  Brown  University,"  has  proved  most 
satisfactory,  and  has  since  been  adopted  for  other  institu- 
tions in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

Undergraduate  life  among  the  men  students  soon  showed 
new  energy  in  various  ways.  A  monthly  periodical.  The 
Brown  Magazine ^w?is  established  in  April,  1890;  TheBni- 
nonian  became  a  weekly  in  September  of  the  same  year ; 
and  on  Decembers,  1891,  appeared  the  first  issue  of  The 
Brown  Daily  Herald.  TheBnmonian,  thus  exposed  to  double 
competition,  had  a  hard  struggle  for  existence,  and  in  1898 
united  with  the  magazine,  which  took  the  name  of  the  for- 
mer. Greek-letter  societies  increased  in  numbers,  until  in 
1898  there  were  twelve,  wnth  a  membership  of  272.  The 
social  features  of  fraternity  life  \\'ere  increasingly  empha- 
sized, a  tendency  that  was  hastened  by  the  erection,  in  1892, 
of  the  beautiful  chapter  house  of  Psi  Upsilon  on  Thayer 
Street.  Athletic  sports,  which  found  an  enthusiastic  advo- 
cate in  President  Andrews,  got  more  and  more  attention  from 
undergraduates,  alumni,  and  Faculty.  The  Athletic  Asso- 
ciation was  formed  in  1890,  and  a  Faculty  committee  on 

I  458   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

athletics  was  appointed  in  1893.  A  new  and  larj^er  athletic 
field,  situated  about  a  mile  to  the  north  of  the  campus,  u  as 
laid  out  in  1899,  and  named  Andrews  Field  in  honor  of  the 
President. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  university  brought  serious  prob- 
lems, which  were  not  easily  solved.  The  need  of  more  build- 
ings and  of  equipment  of  all  kinds  soon  became  acute.  A 
few  new  buildings  were  indeed  erected  early  in  President 
Andrews's  administration,  with  funds  \\hich  had  been  re- 
ceived wholly  or  chiefly  under  his  predecessor.  \\'ilson  Hall, 
constructed  and  fitted  up  according  to  the  latest  ideals  for 
work  in  physics,  at  a  cost  of  $99,000,  was  partly  occupied 
early  in  1891,  and  formally  opened  in  June  of  that  year.  For 
aid  in  planning  and  furnishing  it  Professor  Blake  was  deeply 
indebted  to  Professor  John  Peirce,  \\'ho  had  been  for  years 
the  good  genius  of  the  department,  and  by  whose  death  in 
1897  the  whole  university  lost  one  of  its  most  intelligent 
friends.  Ladd  Observatory,  with  a  twelve-inch  telescope,  sit- 
uated on  high  ground  about  a  mile  to  the  north  of  the  cam- 
pus, was  finished  in  the  autumn  of  1891,  at  an  expense  of 
some  $25,000.  The  Lyman  Gymnasium,  costing  with  its 
equipment  nearly  $66,000,  was  opened  for  use  in  Novem- 
ber, 1891,  and  made  possible  a  system  of  instruction  in  vari- 
ous forms  of  athletic  drill,  which  ^^■as  for  some  years  required 
of  all  classes  in  the  ^^  inter  months.  In  the  summer  of  the 
same  year  Hope  College,  \\  hich  was  much  out  of  repair  — 
the  north  wall  cracked,  timbers  rotting,  and  the  ^\■hole  inte- 
rior worn  and  dingy  —  was  thoroughly  renovated  under  the 
vigilant  eye  of  Marshall  Woods,  chairman  of  the  real  estate 
committee,  at  a  cost  of  $35,000;  a  cellar  was  dug,  weak 
parts  were  strengthened,  and  the  interior  was  completelv 
refinished  in  far  better  stvle  than  before.  At  the  same  time 
the  heating  station,  begun  in  1890  to  heat  Sayles  Hall  and 

C   459   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Wilson  Hall,  was  extended  so  as  to  heat  all  the  buildings 
on  the  campus. 

But  here  building  operations  stopped  for  lack  of  funds, 
although  there  was  crying  need  for  larger  accommodations 
of  all  kinds.  "The  Chapel  is  outgrown,"  wrote  President 
Andrews  in  his  report  in  June,  1892.  "It  can  no  longer 
be  made  to  hold  all  our  students.  .  .  .  The  dormitories  are 
outgrown.  Every  room  in  Hope,  in  Slater,  in  University 
is  at  this  moment  rented  for  a  year.  .  .  .  The  Chemical 
Laboratory  is  outgrown.  Ne\v  tables  are  to  be  introduced 
this  summer,  enabling  us  to  work  at  some  rate  all  the  stu- 
dents electing  chemical  courses  for  a  year  or  two;  but  they 
will  be  much  too  crowded  for  best  results,  and  even  this 
device  will  not  serve  us  long.  .  .  .  The  Botanical  Labora- 
tory is  totally  outgrown.  It  is  ludicrously  inadequate  to  our 
requirements.  .  .  .  Except  the  two  largest,  all  the  recitation 
rooms  in  Sayles  Hall  are  outgrown.  They  can  at  best  be 
used  only  for  elective  classes,  and  the  fullest  of  these  crowd 
them  almost  to  suffocation.  .  .  .  Surprising  as  it  may  seem, 
our  Library  Building,  new  as  it  is,  and  inadequate  as  are 
our  funds  for  stocking  it  with  books,  is,  if  not  outgrown, 
on  the  point  of  becoming  so."  But  he  adds,  "Desperately 
restricted  as  are  the  accommodations  for  much  of  our  work, 
we  cannot  spare  a  dollar  of  our  invested  funds  or  current 
income  to  enlarge  them." 

During  the  next  few  years  the  situation  was  much  the 
same.  The  pressure  for  dormitories  and  class-rooms  was 
somewhat  relieved  by  the  building  of  Maxcy  Hall  in  1894— 
95,  which  cost  with  its  furnishings  about  $48,500;  this 
sum  was  taken  out  of  the  funds,  and  the  investment  proved 
a  profitable  one.  But  in  1897,  when  students  and  Faculty 
had  multiplied  more  than  threefold,  the  endowment  was 
practically  what  it  had  been  eight  years  before.  If  it  be  asked 

C  460  j 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

how,  then,  all  this  expansion  had  been  j)ossible,  a  glance 
at  the  treasurer's  reports  will  answer.  In  1888-89  the  total 
income  for  general  use  was  $53,105;  in  1896-97,  it  was 
$140,906.  Of  this  gain  of  $87,801 ,  over  $77,000  was  due 
to  increase  in  receipts  from  students  for  tuition,  room  rent, 
etc.,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  great  growth  in  numbers, 
the  charges  having  been  but  slightly  advanced;  in  1888- 
89  the  receipts  from  this  source  were  $30,343  ;  in  1896- 
97  they  were  $107,779.  This  money  in  hand  had  pro^'ided 
for  the  enlargement  of  the  Faculty,  although  it  had  not 
raised  the  scale  of  salaries :  the  total  amount  paid  in  sal- 
aries out  of  the  Common  Fund  in  1888-89  was  $43,775 ; 
in  1896-97,  $83,222.  Other  expenses  also  increased  as  the 
institution  grew  larger ;  and  in  several  years  there  were 
deficits  ranging  from  $2646  to  $34,537.  These  deficits, 
although  wholly  or  partly  met  by  a  guarantee  fund,  natu- 
rally caused  grave  concern  to  the  Corporation,  who  finally 
decided  that  retrenchment  was  imperative.  "That  we  have 
to  interrupt  our  progress,  and  to  take,  in  this  way,  even 
a  considerable  step  backward,  is  a  cruel  fate,  which  must 
evoke  protest  from  every  true  friend  of  the  University."  So 
wrote  President  Andrews  in  his  report  at  the  end  of  the  year 
1896,  when,  with  broken  health,  he  was  about  to  seek  rest 
in  a  year's  absence  abroad.  Before  his  return  the  Corpora- 
tion, in  their  anxiety  to  improve  the  finances,  had  taken  action 
which  led  to  his  resignation  and  stirred  up  a  controversy 
of  deep  significance  for  university  education  in  America. 

In  his  report  for  1891—92  President  Andrews  had  said 
that  Brown  University  needed  three  million  dollars,  "a  mil- 
lion DOLLARS  within  a  year,  and  two  million  more  in  ten 
years,"  if  she  were  not  to  "fail  of  her  proper  privilege  and 
destiny.  "When,  a  few  years  later,  the  first  million  had  not 
been  recei^'ed ,  various  reasons  were  assigned .  Some  found  the 

[   461    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

cause  in  the  financial  depression  under  which  the  country 
still  suffered  after  the  panic  of  1893  ;  others  thought  that  the 
natural  patrons  of  the  institution  had  not  yet  caught  the  mod- 
ern habit  of  making  large  gifts  to  education ;  but  still  others 
said  that  the  President's  political  views  stood  between  the 
university  and  an  ample  endowment.  Dr.  Andrews  believed 
in  free  trade  and  in  international  bi-metallism.  On  the  first 
subject  he  had  expressed  himself  freely  while  a  professor 
in  the  university,  but  had  been  reticent  since  his  election  to 
the  presidency.  On  international  bi-metallism,  which  was 
not  a  party  issue,  he  had  uttered  his  views  orally  and  in 
print,  both  before  and  after  becoming  president,  and  in  1892 
had  been  a  delegate  to  the  international  monetary  confer- 
ence at  Brussels.  Early  in  the  summer  of  1896  the  public 
learned,  by  two  or  three  letters  of  his  which  were  published, 
that  he  had  taken  a  new  position  in  regard  to  bi-metallism, 
holding  that  the  United  States  should  begin  the  free  coin- 
age of  silver  at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  ounces  of  silver  to  one 
ounce  of  gold,  without  waiting  for  the  cooperation  of  other 
nations.  There  followed  the  heated  presidential  campaign 
of  1896,  in  which  the  free  coinage  of  silver  by  the  United 
States  alone  was  the  leading  issue ;  President  Andrews  was 
in  Europe,  but  his  views  as  expressed  in  these  letters  were 
■widely  quoted. 

At  the  Corporation  meeting  in  June,  1 897,  Dr.  Andrews's 
views  on  free  silver  came  up  for  discussion,  and  a  resolution 
was  passed  appointing  a  committee ' '  to  confer  with  the  pres- 
ident in  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  University. ' '  The  com- 
mittee met  with  him  on  July  16,  and  at  his  request  presented 
a  written  statement,  of  which  the  following  is  the  essential 
part: 

The  resolution  was  passed  after  remarks  irom  several  members  of  the 
corporation,  showing  more  specifically  the  reason  for  it.  .  .  .  They  sig- 

C  462  ;] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

nifiecl  a  wish  for  a  change  in  only  one-  particular,  ha\ing  rt-fcrence  to 
his  [i.e'.,  the  President's]  \  iews  upon  a  question  which  constituted  a 
leading  issue  in  the  recent  Presidential  election  and  which  is  still  j)re- 
dominant  in  National  politics  —  nanicl\-,  that  of  the  free  coinage  of 
silver  as  legal  tender  at  a  ratio  of  sixteen  ounces  of  siKer  to  one  of 
gold.  They  considered  that  the  \iews  of  the  President,  as  made  jnih- 
lic  by  him  from  time  to  time,  fa\ored  a  lesumption  of  such  coinage, 
and  expressed  the  belief  that  these  \iews  were  so  contrai-\'  to  the  \iews 
generally  held  by  the  friends  of  the  Uni\-ersit)'  that  the  L^ni\ersit\' 
had  already  lost  gifts  and  legacies  which  would  otherwise ha\e  come 
or  have  been  assured  to  it,  and  that  without  a  change  it  would  in  the 
fliture  fail  to  recei\'e  the  pecuniary^  support  which  is  requisite  to  enable 
it  to  prosecute  with  success  the  grand  work  on  which  it  has  entertxl. 
The  change  hoped  for  by  them,  they  proceeded  to  explain,  is  not 
a  renunciation  of  these  views,  as  honestly  entertained  by  him,  but  a 
forbearance,  out  of  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  Universitv,  to  pro- 
mulgate them,  especially  when  to  promulgate  them  ^vill  appeid  most 
strongly  to  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  the  public. 

The  next  day  President  Andrews  resigned,  on  the  ground 
that  he  could  not  meet  the  wishes  of  the  Corporation,  as  he 
understood  them,  "without  surrendering  that  reasonable 
liberty  of  utterance  ...  in  the  absence  of  which  the  most 
ample  endowment  for  an  educational  institution  would  have 
but  little  worth." 

There  ensued  a  discussion  throughout  the  country,  at- 
tended with  much  froth  and  fury,  but  also  evoking  much 
thoughtful  argument.  It  was  urged  that  the  head  of  a  public 
institution  should  voluntarily  limit  his  freedom  of  speech,  in 
order  not  to  hurt  the  institution  or  use  its  influence  in  support 
of  partisan  views,  and  that,  if  he  failed  to  do  so,  it  was  the 
right  and  duty  of  the  governing  board  to  check  him.  On  the 
other  side  it  was  said  that  the  action  of  the  Corporation  had 
struck  a  blow  at  academic  freedom,  and  that  freedom,  not 
money,  is  the  life-blood  of  a  universitv.  It  was  also  brought 
out  that  President  Andrews  had  published  nothing  on  free 

C  463  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

coinage  of  silver  by  the  United  States  alone,  but  that  let- 
ters written  in  reply  to  questions  put  to  him  by  friends  had 
been  published  without  his  consent  and  in  one  case  without 
his  knowledge.  Twenty-four  Brown  professors  addressed  an 
open  letter  to  the  Corporation,  arguing  the  academic  ques- 
tion involved  and  requesting  them  not  to  accept  the  Presi- 
dent's resignation,  on  the  ground  that  to  do  so  "would 
stamp  this  institution,  in  the  eyes  of  the  country,  as  one  in 
which  freedom  of  thought  and  expression  is  not  permit- 
ted when  it  runs  counter  to  the  views  generally  accepted  in 
the  community  or  held  by  those  from  \^^hom  the  Univer- 
sity hopes  to  obtain  financial  support."  A  petition  signed 
by  some  six  hundred  alumni  was  sent  to  the  Corporation, 
asking  that  they  ' '  take  that  action  upon  the  resignation  of 
President  Andrews  which  will  eifectually  refute  the  charge 
that  reasonable  liberty  of  utterance  was,  or  ever  is  to  be 
denied  to  any  teacher  of  Brown  University."  Forty-four 
of  the  forty-nine  alumnae  also  sent  a  petition.  More  than 
a  hundred  college  presidents,  professors,  authors,  and  other 
public  men  united  in  sending  to  the  Corporation  their  opinion 
that ' '  the  future  influence  of  the  American  Universities  and 
the  interests  of  free  thought  and  free  speech  under  a  just 
sense  of  accountability  would  be  promoted  by  such  action 
on  the  part  of  the  Corporation  as  might  naturally  lead  to  the 
withdrawal  of  the  resignation  of  President  Andrews." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Corporation  in  September  the 
committee  of  conference  made  a  written  report,  embodying 
the  statement  given  to  the  President,  and  speaking  of  the 
friendly  tone  of  the  conference  on  both  sides.  A  statement  by 
Dr.  Andrews  was  read,  in  which  he  said: 

The  studied  effort  visible  during  the  summer  to  produce  estrangement 
between  the  Corporation  and  myself  I  deeply  deplore.  On  mv  side 
it  has  had  no  effect.  ...  I  have  sought  only  peace,  feeling  that  if  the 

C  464  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Corpoi-ation  and  mvself  could  no  longer  cooperate  amiaihly,  we  could 
at  least  separate  aniicabh'.  ...  In  anv  movement  by  our  country'  to 
restore  silver  to  its  ancient  monetar}'  character,  I  still  desiderate  the 
cooperation  of  other  nations  no  less  than  I  did  ])re\iousK'  to  1896, 
as  earnestly  as  any  man  who  \oted  for  the  St.  Louis  platfonii.  I  ha\e 
simply  changed  to  the  belief  that  United  States  initiative  is  the  surest 
if  not  the  only  wa\'  to  secure  such  cooperation.  But  this  changed  be- 
lief, I  had,  in  June,  never  publicly  advocated  b}'  so  much  as  a  single 
word.  . .  .  But  for  a  few  personal  communications  last  summer,  made 
at  a  time  when  no  one  could  ha^•e  anticijxited  the  ferocitv  which  the 
campaign  developed,  probably  not  a  soul  in  this  counti-)'  outside  of 
my  family  would  at  this  moment  kno\v  that  ni\-  ^■iew  had  altered.  .  .  . 
In  respect  to  this  as  in  respect  to  the  tariff,  I  ha\e  been  i-eticent  and 
careful  to  the  very  verge  of  self-respectability.  That,  touching  an\-  of 
these  delicate  questions,  I  have  been  loud,  a  declaimer,  parading  my 
A'iews,  ambitiously  or  otherwise,  I  emphaticallv  denv.  Unfortunate  I 
have  been:  indiscreet,  I  belie^•e,  I  ha\e  not  been. 

Here  was  ground  for  reconsideration  on  both  sides.  The 
Corporation,  after  full  deliberation,  unanimously  adopted 
the  following  address,  five  members  not  voting: 

To  the  President  of  Brown  University, — 

The  Corporation  of  Brown  University  has  this  day  received,  with 
the  greatest  regret,  your  resignation  as  President.  It  most  eamestl}'  de- 
sires that  you  will  withdraw  it.  It  conceives  that  it  was  written  with- 
out full  knowledge  of  the  position  of  the  Corporation.  With  the 
earnest  hope  that  a  statement  b)'  it,  bearing  the  fonnal  sanction  and 
approval  of  the  governing  body  of  the  University  as  a  whole,  may 
bring  us  again  into  hearty  accord,  the  Corporation  desires  to  assure  von 
that  it  in  no  wav  sought  or  desired  the  se\erance  of  our  official  rela- 
tions, which,  so  far  as  it  knows,  have  been  most  cordial  fi-om  the  time 
of  vour  acceptance  of  the  Pi-esidency  of  the  University. 

The  onlv  vote  and  only  expression  hitherto  made  by  the  Corpo- 
ration bearing  upon  the  question  at  issue  was  at  the  last  June  meeting 
and  consisted  of  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  '"'' confer  with  you 
as  to  the  interests  of  the  University."  The  extent  of  authority  thus 
given  its  committee  was  that  of  conference^  which  it  fliUy  believes  j'ou 
would  unhesitatingly  admit  was  a  legitimate  and  friendly  exercise  of 

C  465  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

its  privileges,  relating,  in  the  terms  of  the  vote,  to  "  the  interests  of  the 
University"  which  you  and  the  Corporation  have  closely  at  heart. 

It  is  perfectly  true  that  the  vote  in  question  was  occasioned  by  the 
differing  views  entei-tained  on  the  one  hand  by  you  and  on  the  other 
by  most  and  probably  all  of  the  members  of  the  Corporation  as  to 
the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  siher  by  the  United  States  as  far 
at  least  as  affecting  "the  interests  of  the  University,"  and  the  fear 
that  your  views  with  reference  to  it,  publicly  known  or  expressed, 
might  perhaps  in  some  degree  be  assumed  to  be  representative  and 
not  merely  individual. 

It  was  not  in  our  minds  to  prescribe  the  path  in  which  )'ou  should 
tread,  or  to  administer  to  you  any  official  rebuke,  or  to  restrain  your 
freedom  of  opinion,  or  "reasonable  liberty  of  utterance,"  but  simply 
to  intimate  that  it  would  be  the  part  of  wisdom  for  you  to  take  a  less 
active  part  in  exciting  partisan  discussions  and  apply  your  energies 
more  exclusively  to  the  affairs  of  the  college. 

Having,  as  it  believes,  I'emoved  the  misapprehension  that  your  in- 
dividual views  on  this  question  represent  those  of  the  Corporation  and 
the  University,  for  which  misapprehension  you  are  not  responsible  and 
which  it  knows  you  too  would  seek  to  dispel,  the  Corporation,  affimi- 
ing  its  rightful  authority  to  conserve  "the  interests  of  the  University" 
at  all  times  by  every  honorable  means  and  especially  desiring  to  avoid, 
in  the  conduct  of  the  University,  the  imputation  even  of  the  consid- 
eration of  party  questions  or  of  the  dominance  of  any  class,  and  that 
in  the  language  of  its  charter  "  in  this  liberal  and  catholic  Institution 
...  all  members  hereof  shall  forever  enjoy  frdl,  free,  absolute  and  un- 
interrupted liberty  of  conscience  "  (which  includes  freedom  of  thought 
and  expression),  cannot  feel  that  the  divergence  of  views  between 
you  and  the  members  of  the  Corporation  upon  the  "silver  question" 
and  its  effect  upon  the  Universit)^  is  an  adequate  cause  of  separation 
between  us,  for  the  Corporation  is  profoundly  appreciative  of  the 
great  services  you  have  rendered  the  University  and  of  your  sacrifice 
and  love  for  it.  It  therefore  renews  its  assurances  of  highest  respect 
for  you  and  expresses  the  confident  hope  that  you  will  withdraw  your 
resignation. 

Dr.  Andrews  thereupon  withdrew  his  resignation,  writing 
to  the  committee  of  conference,  "The  action  referred  to 

C   466   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

{i.e.,  that  of  the  Corporation]  entirely  does  away  witli  tlie 
scruple  which  led  to  my  resignation." 

The  year  that  follow ed  was  a  successful  one,  in  spite  of 
some  necessary  retrenchments,  w  hich  reduced  expenses  by 
$3170  ;  unfortunately  there  had  been  a  falling  oft'  in  attend- 
ance, and  the  income  also  decreased  by  $9154,  but  the  defi- 
cit of  nearly  $6000  was  covered  by  the  guarantee  fund.  The 
endow^ment  of  the  institution  at  this  time  was  $1,125,685. 
The  assessed  value  of  the  university  lands  w^as  $599,173  ; 
the  estimated  value  of  the  buildings,  $578,793;  a  total 
of  $1,177,966.  The  President's  comprehensive  survey  at 
the  end  of  the  year  showed  that  a  large  amount  of  good 
and  varied  work  had  been  done ;  and  also  that  a  movement 
recently  started  by  the  Boston  Alumni  Association,  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  a  fund  of  $2,000,000,  aftbrded  ground 
for  hope  that  the  resources  of  the  uni\ersity  would  before 
long  be  enlarged. 

On  July  15,  1898,  Dr.  Andrews  resigned,  to  accept  the 
superintendency  of  the  Chicago  public  schools.  The  Corpo- 
ration, at  their  meeting  in  September,  adopted  this  minute 
of  appreciation : 

In  accepting  the  resignation  of  Elisha  Benjamin  Andrews  DD. 
LL.D.  as  President  of  Brown  University  the  members  of  the  cor- 
poration desire  to  place  on  record  their  high  appreciation  of  the  \alii- 
able  service  which  he  has  rendered  to  the  uni\ei-sity  during  the  nine 
years  in  which  he  has  held  the  office  of  President.  His  administration 
has  been  both  vigorous  and  conservative ;  his  method  that  of  extend- 
ing as  widely  as  possible  the  influence  and  help  of  liberal  education ; 
his  relation  to  students,  facultv  and  officers  such  as  to  bind  them  to 
him  in  sincere  respect  and  ]iersonal  regard.  His  success  as  an  educator 
is  shown  in  the  remarkable  growth  of  the  Uni\ersit\'  during  his  term 
of  office  and  in  the  enthusiasm  which  he  has  inspired  in  those  who  have 
been  under  him.  The  record  which  he  lea\es  of  his  labors  here  is  one 
in  which  he  may  well  take  an  honest  pride  and  one  which  marks 

C   467   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Brown.  In  parting  with  Dr.  Andrews  we 
assure  him  of  our  best  wishes  for  success  in  the  new  field  to  which  he 
is  called  and  of  our  gratitude  for  the  generous,  manly  and  able  service 
which  he  has  given  here.  The  Secretaiy  will  enter  this  minute  upon 
the  records  and  forward  a  copy  of  it  to  Dr.  Andrews. 

Dr.  Andrews  served  as  superintendent  of  the  Chicago 
schools  for  two  years,  and  then  became  chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Nebraska,  which  during  his  term  of  office  in- 
creased greatly  in  numbers  and  reputation.  On  account  of 
his  health  he  resigned  in  1908,  receiving  the  newly  created 
title  of  chancellor  emeritus.  In  spite  of  failing  strength  he 
has  continued  to  add  to  the  list  of  his  writings,  which  now 
include  the  following  books,  besides  many  magazine  arti- 
cles :  iTistitiites  of  Constitutional  History^  English  and  Amer- 
ican^ 1884 ;  Institutes  of  General  History^  1885,  1895  ;  Insti- 
tutes of  Economics,  1889,  1900;  Jn  Honest  Dollar,  1894; 
Wealth  and  Moral  Law,  1894;  History  of  the  United  States, 
1894,  1902;  History  of  the  Last  Quarter  Century  in  the 
United  States,  1896  ;  History  of  the  United  States  in  Our  Own 
Times,  1904  ;  The  Call  of  the  Land,  1913.  In  1904  a  por- 
trait of  Dr.  Andrews,  by  W.  M.  Chase,  was  presented  to 
the  university  by  the  class  of  1893. 


C   468   ] 


CHAPTER  XII 
PRESIDENT  FAUNCE'S  ADMINISTRATION 

INCREASE    OF    ENDOWMENT  I    NEW    BUILDINGS:    MODIFICATIONS  OF  THE 

curriculum:  cooperation  with  THE  COMMUNITY  AND  THE  ALUMNI: 

UNDERGRADUATE  UFE  :  THE  WOMEn's  COLLEGE  :  CONCLUSION 

UPON  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Andrews,  Professor  Ben- 
jamin F.  Clarke,  who  had  acted  as  president  j&ato  tem- 
pore in  1896-97,  was  appointed  president  ad  mterim.  On 
June  3,  1899,  the  Corporation  elected  the  Rev.  William 
H. P. Fauncepresidentoftheuniversity  and  professor  of  moral 
and  intellectual  philosophy.  President  Faunce,  the  son  of  a 
Baptist  clergyman  and  author,  was  born  in  Worcester,  Mas- 
sachusetts, on  January  15, 1859.  He  graduated  from  Brown 
University  in  1880  with  the  third  honor,  was  instructor  in 
mathematics  for  a  year,  attended  Newton  Theological  Insti- 
tution, and  then  served  as  pastor  of  Baptist  churches  in 
Springfield  and  New  York.  He  studied  in  the  University  of 
Jena  in  1895,  and  received  the  degree  of  D.D.  from  Brown 
in  1897;  he  has  since  been  given  the  degree  of  D.D.  by 
Yale,  of  S.T.D.  by  Harvard,  and  of  LL.D  by  Baylor  Uni- 
versity, the  Universit}^  of  Alabama,  Dartmouth  College, 
Wesleyan  University,  and  Denison  University.  Before  elec- 
tion to  the  presidency  he  had  been  a  trustee  of  Brown  Uni- 
versity and  Rochester  University,  a  lecturer  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago,  and  resident  preacher  at  Harvard. 

The  time  has  not  yet  come  to  write  the  history  of  Presi- 
dent Faunce's  administration,  but  the  leading  features  of  it 
thus  far  may  be  briefly  sketched. 

While  there  has  been  some  numerical  growth,  the  stu- 
dents increasing  to  nearly  a  thousand  and  the  Facultv  from 
ninety  to  one  hundred  and  seven,  the  chief  work  of  the  ad- 

C   469   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ministration  has  not  been  expansion  but  upbuilding.  Three 
endowment  funds  of  $1,000,000  each  have  been  raised, 
the  first  in  1900,  the  second  in  1902,  and  the  last  in  1912. 
In  1902  the  university  fell  heir  to  more  than  $500,000,  the 
largest  single  gift  in  its  history,  by  the  death  of  George  L. 
Littlefield,  who  became  interested  in  the  institution  through 
his  warm  friendship  for  President  Andrews.  In  1911  a 
legacy  of  about  $85,000  was  received  from  the  estate  of 
Dr.  Oliver  H.  Arnold.  These  gifts,  with  many  others,  have 
raised  the  endowment  to  $4,466,243. 

The  last  fifteen  years  have  also  been  the  greatest  build- 
ing era  in  the  history  of  the  university.  A  handsome  brick 
house  for  the  president  was  built  in  1901,  at  the  corner  of 
Hope  and  Manning  Streets.  Memorial  gates  at  the  College 
Street  entrance  to  the  campus,  and  an  Administration  Build- 
ing on  the  site  of  the  University  Grammar  School,  were 
erected  in  1901  and  1902,  with  a  bequest  of  $45,000  from 
Augustus  Van  Wickle.  The  beautiful  gates  shamed  the  old 
wooden  fence  and  brought  about  its  replacement  by  an  iron 
one  with  brick  posts;  the  fence  was  completed  in  1905,  at 
a  cost  of  $21,912,  forty-four  of  the  fifty -one  sections  being 
paid  for  by  classes  or  by  individuals  in  memory  of  classes, 
and  gates  at  minor  entrances  were  erected  by  the  classes 
of  1872, 1884,  and  1887.  A  marble  swimming-pool,  named 
for  the  donor,  Colgate  Hoyt,  was  opened  for  use  in  1904. 
Caswell  Hall,  a  dormitory  costing  $88,000,  was  erected 
by  the  university  on  the  back  campus  in  1904.  Rockefeller 
Hall,  at  the  north  end  of  the  middle  campus,  built  for  the 
use  of  the  Christian  Association  and  the  Brown  Union,  was 
completed  in  the  same  year  :  the  cost  of  the  building  and  its 
furnishings,  $107,358,  was  met  by  John  D.  Rockefeller; 
an  endowment  of  $25,000,  raised  by  undergraduates  and 
alumni,  was  increased  to  $50,000  in  1909  by  a  gift  from 

C  470   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.  The  dejjartments  of  civil  and  me- 
chanical engineering,  which  had  labored  for  many  years 
widiout  adequate  facilities,  were  given  a  modern  building 
on  the  back  campus  in  1903 ;  the  cost  of  the  building  and 
equipment  was  $59,737,  which  \\  as  paid  from  the  univer- 
sity funds  supjjlemented  by  gifts  from  Henry  K.  Porter 
and  others. 

In  1904  the  trustees  of  the  estate  of  John  Nicholas  Brown 
transferred  to  Brown  University  the  famous  John  Carter 
Brown  Library,  endowed  it  with  $500,000,  and  spent 
$150,000  to  erect  a  building.  This  structure,  of  classic  de- 
sign and  exquisite  proportions,  made  of  Indiana  limestone 
without  and  largely  of  marble  within,  was  dedicated  on 
May  17,  1904.  On  the  same  day  the  John  Nicholas  Brown 
Gate,  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Brown,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
middle  campus  and  near  the  library,  was  opened  for  the 
first  time.  The  John  Carter  Brown  Library  now  consists  of 
about  thirty  thousand  volumes.  Some  of  these  were  pur- 
chased before  the  Revolution  by  Nicholas  Brown,  Sr.;  but 
the  real  founder  of  the  library  as  a  great  collection  of  earlv 
books  relating  to  North  and  South  America  was  his  grand- 
son, John  Carter  Brown,  who  spared  no  effort  or  expense 
to  make  it  unrivaled  in  its  special  field.  It  contains  books 
and  manuscripts  of  great  rarity,  some  of  them  unique,  and 
during  the  last  three  generations  it  has  been  invaluable  to 
many  scholars  in  America  and  Europe. 

The  university  library  had  outgrown  its  building,  which 
was  crammed  with  books  from  cellar  to  roof.  In  1906  An- 
drew Carnegie  offered  $150,000  for  a  new  building  in  mem- 
ory of  John  Hay,  and  his  condition  that  a  like  sum  be  added 
was  soon  met  by  a  few  graduates  and  friends  of  the  univer- 
sity. The  site  chosen  was  that  of  the  old  president's  house, 
at  the  head  of  College  Street,  increased  by  the  purchase  of 

C  471    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

land  to  the  north. ^  The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  April  30, 

1909,  and  the  building  was  dedicated  on  November  II, 

1910,  when  addresses  were  made  by  President  James  B. 
Angell  and  the  Hon.  Elihu  Root.  The  John  Hay  Library 
covers  about  seventeen  thousand  square  feet  of  ground,  is 
made  of  marble  (except  the  stacks,  which  are  brick),  and  is 
of  fireproof  construction  throughout.  The  style  is  English 
Renaissance.  In  the  vesdbule  stands  a  bronze  bust  of  Mr. 
Hay  by  Saint-Gaudens,  and  on  the  wall  is  this  inscription  : 

"in  memory  of  JOHN  HAY  OF  THE  CLASS  OF  185  8  POET  HISTORIAN 
DIPLOMATIST  STATESMAN  WHO  MAINTAINED  THE  OPEN  DOOR  AND 
THE  GOLDEN  RULE  THIS  BUILDING  HAS  BEEN  ERECTED  BY  HIS  FRIENDS 

AND  FELLOW-ALUMNI."  The  great  reading-room,  with  tables 
for  nearly  two  hundred  readers,  is  lined  with  shelves  con- 
taining several  thousand  books  of  reference ;  the  stacks  open 
direcdy  off  it,  and  the  stack  on  the  same  floor  is  given  up 
to  a  students'  library  of  seventeen  thousand  selected  books, 
to  which  undergraduates  have  free  access.  The  stacks  have 
a  capacity  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  volumes,  and 
can  be  readily  enlarged.  The  main  library  now  consists  of 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  volumes.  Rooms 
have  also  been  provided  for  the  special  collections  in  which 
the  library  is  so  rich :  the  Harris  Collection  of  American 
Poetry,  now  grown  to  more  than  thirteen  thousand  volumes  ; 
the  Rider  Collection  of  manuscripts,  books,  and  pamphlets 
relating  to  the  history  of  Rhode  Island,  formed  by  Sidney  S. 
Rider  and  given  to  the  university  in  1903  by  Marsden  J. 
Perry ;  the  Wheaton  Collection  of  International  Law,  con- 
sisting of  more  than  sixteen  hundred  volumes,  presented  at 
various  times  by  William  V.  Kellen  ;  the  Hammond  Lamont 
Library  of  twenty-seven  hundred  volumes  of  English  litera- 

'Tliis  land  was  included  in  the  gift  of  Nicholas  Brown  in  1839,  but  was  sold 
by  the  university  in  1868. 

C   472    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ture,  presented  in  1910  by  the  classes  of  1899  and  1900; 
the  George  Earl  Church  Collection,  the  bequest  of  Colonel 
Church  in  1911,  comprising  thirty-five  hundred  volumes 
on  South  America ;  the  Corthell  Engineering  Library  of 
seven  thousand  books  and  pamphlets,  given  in  1912  by 
Elmer  G.  Corthell, with  an  endowment  of  $5000;  theCham- 
bers  Dante  Collection,  containing  eleven  hundred  volumes 
besides  many  rare  pamphlets,  the  gift  of  Henry  D.  Sharpe 
in  1912 ;  the  sociological  and  scientific  library  of  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Lester  F.Ward,  of  one  thousand  volumes,  presented 
in  1913  by  his  family;  and  the  linguistic  library  of  the  late 
Dr.  Adrian  Scott,  consisting  of  one  thousand  volumes, 
given  by  the  class  of  1872. 

A  structure  unique  among  the  buildings  of  Ameri- 
can colleges,  a  campanile  and  clock-tower  in  one,  costing 
$32,000,  was  erected  in  1904  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
front  campus,  by  Paul  Bajnotti,  of  Italy,  in  memory  of  his 
wife,  Carrie  Mathilde  Brown  Bajnotti.  In  1905  the  exte- 
rior of  University  Hall  was  restored  to  its  original  appear- 
ance by  removing  the  cement  which  had  hidden  its  brick- 
work since  1834,  putting  in  v\indows  of  colonial  style,  re- 
building the  old  chimneys,  and  remodeling  the  belfry  on  the 
lines  of  the  first  one ;  the  cost  of  the  work  was  borne  by  Mars- 
den  J.  Perry.  A  bronze  copy  of  the  marble  statue  of  Caesar 
Augustus  in  the  Vatican  was  set  up  in  front  of  Rhode  Is- 
land Hall  in  1906,  and  a  replica  of  the  equestrian  statue  of 
Marcus  Aurelius  on  the  Capitoline  Hill  was  erected  behind 
Sayles  Hall  in  1908  ;  both  were  gifts  from  Moses  B.I.  God- 
dard.  In  1910  the  Goddard  gates  on  George  Street  were  pre- 
sented by  Mrs.  C.  Oliver  Iselin  in  memory  of  her  father. 
Chancellor  William  Goddard.  A  field  house  was  erected  on 
Andrew-s  Field  in  1907,  at  a  cost  of  about  $13,000,  by  Ed- 
gar L.  Marston.  A  biological  laboratory  is  now  going  up  at 

C  473   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

the  corner  of  Thayer  and  Waterman  Streets  ;  the  cost,  some 
$76,000,  will  be  met  chiefly  by  the  legacy  of  Dr.  Oliver  H. 
Arnold. 

During  this  period  of  material  enrichment  it  has  not  been 
forgotten  that  buildings  and  equipment  are  but  tools  for  the 
use  of  Faculty  and  students.  While  the  number  of  depart- 
ments has  remained  the  same,  the  Faculty  has  grown  larger 
by  nearly  twenty  per  cent;  and  still  more  significant  is  the 
fact  that  teachers  of  professorial  rank  have  increased  from 
thirty-six  to  fifty-five,  while  instructors  have  decreased  from 
thirty-two  to  nineteen.  The  amount  paid  from  the  common 
fund  in  salaries  has  risen  from  $87,638  in  1897-98  to 
$157,628  in  1913-14.  In  accordance  with  the  recommen- 
dation of  the  President,  the  Corporation  established  pen- 
sions for  members  of  the  Faculty  in  1904  ;  they  were  inade- 
quate, however,  and  in  1913  $225,000  of  the  new  endow- 
ment fund  was  set  apart  to  provide  for  a  pension  system 
practically  the  same  as  that  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation. 
The  interpretation  of  these  facts  may  be  read  in  the  words 
of  President  Faunce  in  his  report  for  1907-08:  "It  can 
never  be  said  that  Brown  University  has  expended  its  re- 
sources for  brick  and  stone  rather  than  for  teaching.  .  .  . 
We  still  value  men  more  than  materials." 

The  personnel  of  the  Corporation  and  the  Faculty  has 
undergone  the  usual  changes.  Eight  fellows  and  twenty 
trustees  have  resigned  or  died  ;  among  them  William  God- 
dard,  trustee  since  1857,  chancellor  since  1888,  whose  death 
occurred  in  1907.  Arnold  B.  Chace,  who  had  resigned  the 
treasurership  in  1900  and  been  succeeded  by  Cornelius  S. 
Sweetland,  was  elected  chancellor.  The  Rev.  Thomas  D. 
Anderson  still  retains  the  position  of  secretary,  to  which  he 
was  appointed  in  1890.  Of  the  ninety  members  of  the  Fac- 
ulty at  the  end  of  Dr.  Andrews's  presidency  only  twenty- 

C   474   H 


HISTORY  OF   liKOWN  UNIVERSITY 

nine  remain,  but  the  loss  has  been  chiefly  among  instructors 
and  assistants,  twenty-one  of  tlie  thirty-six  teachers  of  ])ro- 
fessorial  rank  being  the  same. 

Professor  Alonzo  Williams  died  in  1901 .  He  was  born  in 
Foster,  Rhode  Island,  in  1842,  a  descendant  of  Roger  Wil- 
liams ;  he  served  through  the  Civil  \\'ar,  graduated  from 
Brown  in  1870,  taught  in  the  Friends'  School,  and  became 
professor  of  modern  languages  at  Brown  in  1876.  He  was 
a  spirited  teacher,  and  the  department  gre^v  rapidlv  under 
his  energetic  management ;  he  also  built  up  a  \aluable  sem- 
inary library,  and  secured  the  funds  for  the  Grand  Army 
Fellowship  of  $10,000.  His  abounding  vitality  overflowed 
into  public  life:  he  was  an  effective  political  speaker,  state 
commander  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  super- 
visor of  the  Rhode  Island  census  of  1890. 

Alpheus  S.  Packard  died  in  1905.  He  was  born  in  Bruns- 
wick, Maine,  in  1839,  graduated  from  Bowdoin  and  the 
Maine  Medical  School,  studied  under  Agassiz,  and  was  state 
entomologist  in  Massachusetts  before  coming  to  Brown 
as  professor  of  zoology  and  geology  in  1878.  While  per- 
forming faithfully  the  duties  of  his  professorship  for  more 
than  a  quarter-century,  he  carried  on  original  researches  of 
remarkable  range  and  depth,  publishing  some  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  papers  in  entomology  alone.  His  monographs 
and  books  brought  him  international  reputation,  and  he  was 
honored  with  membership  in  many  learned  societies  —  the 
American  Academy  of  Science,  the  Societe  des  Sciences  de 
Liege,  the  Linnean  Society  of  London,  and  entomological 
societies  in  Paris,  St.  Petersburg,  Brussels,  and  Stockholm. 
Yet  withal  his  spirit  was  as  that  of  a  little  child. 

Professor  Benjamin  F.  Clarke  became  professor  emeri- 
tus in  1905,  and  died  in  1908.  He  was  born  in  Newport, 
Maine,  in  1831,  graduated  from  Brown  in  1863,  and  from 

C  475   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

then  until  his  retirement  was  a  teacher  in  the  departments 
of  mathematics  and  engineering,  besides  being  twice  pres- 
ident ^ro  tempore  and  serving  as  a  member  of  the  Corpora- 
tion from  1906  till  his  death ;  the  university  gave  him  the 
degree  of  Sc.D.  in  1897.  A  true  picture  of  the  man  was 
draA\n  by  the  President  in  his  report  for  1908-09  : ' '  He  was 
obviously  at  peace  within.  There  was  about  his  outer  seem- 
ing a  sort  of  patriarchal  gentleness,  of  apostolic  dignity,  in 
the  presence  of  which  the  base,  or  even  the  trivial,  seemed 
impossible.  .  .  .  By  nature  reverent,  conservative,  and  self- 
contained,  he  was  yet  hospitable  to  new  ideas  and  methods. 
When  called  to  administrative  position,  he  showed  a  judi- 
cial temper  not  easily  surpassed,  and  an  attention  to  detail 
that  brought  genuine  success.  In  a  period  when  educational 
ideals  are  swiftly  changing,  a  man  like  Professor  Clarke 
gives  to  an  institution  continuity  of  policy  and  tradition." 

One  of  the  most  faithful  servants  of  the  university,  As- 
sistant Librarian  John  M.  Burnham,  died  in  1909.  He  was 
born  in  Manchester,  New  Hampshire,  in  1847,  graduated 
from  Brown  in  1874,  and  after  some  experience  in  business 
and  teaching  became  Dr.  Guild's  assistant  in  1881 ;  he  re- 
mained in  this  position  for  almost  the  whole  period  during 
which  the  old  library  building  was  in  use,  dying  shortly 
before  the  new  one  was  finished. 

Professor  Lester  F.  Ward  died  in  1913.  He  w^as  born  in 
Joliet,  Illinois,  in  1841,  served  in  the  Civil  War,  graduated 
from  Columbian  University,  and  became  geologist  to  the 
United  States  geological  survey;  in  later  years  he  gave  him- 
self chiefly  to  the  study  of  sociology,  and  came  to  Brown  as 
professor  of  that  subject  in  1906.  His  many  books  won  him 
international  recognition  as  one  of  the  foremost  sociologists 
of  the  age. 

Professor  Thurston  M .  Phetteplace  died  in  1913.  He  was 
C  4-6  ] 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

born  in  Providence  in  1877,  graduated  from  Brow  n  in  1899, 
and  was  at  once  appointed  instructor  in  meclianical  engi- 
neering, becoming  assistant  professor  in  1906;  he  took  the 
degree  of  A.M.  at  Columbia  in  1908.  His  ability  as  a  teacher 
and  his  genial  nature  made  him  greatly  respected  and  liked 
by  his  colleagues  and  pupils. 

Professor  Winslow  Upton  died  in  1914.  He  was  lx)rn  in 
Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  1853,  graduated  from  Brown  as 
valedictorian  in  1875,  received  the  degree  of  A.M.  at  the 
University  of  Cincinnati  in  1877,  was  assistant  in  the  Har- 
vard astronomical  observatory  for  two  years,  and  then 
served  for  five  years  in  the  United  States  lake  survey,  na\  al 
observatory,  and  signal  office.  In  1884  he  became  professor 
of  astronomy  at  Brown,  also  teaching  mathematics  and  logic 
for  some  years;  he  was  dean  in  1900-01;  the  university 
conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  Sc.D.in  1906.  He  was  the 
author  of  numerous  astronomical  papers,  and  went  on  sev- 
eral expeditions  for  the  observation  of  solar  eclipses.  He 
had  the  gift  of  remarkable  lucidit}^  in  exposidon,  and,  al- 
though tenacious  of  his  opinions,  was  singularly  reasonable 
and  sweet-tempered  in  argument.  A  clearer-headed  or  bet- 
ter-poised man  was  never  in  the  service  of  Brown  University. 

ProfessorWilliamW.  Bailey ,  who  became  professor  emer- 
itus in  1906,  died  in  1914.  He  was  born  at  West  Point, 
where  his  father  was  professor,  in  1843;  he  entered  Bro^\  n 
with  the  class  of  1864,  but  did  not  receive  his  degree  until 
1873  ;  after  serving  as  assistant  in  chemistrv  at  Brown  and 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  he  de\oted  him- 
self to  botau}^,  studying  at  Harvard  and  Columbia,  and  ^\"as 
appointed  botanist  to  the  United  States  geological  exj)lo- 
ration  of  the  fortieth  parallel  in  1867-68.  He  became  in- 
structor in  botanv  at  Brown  in  1877,  and  professor  in  1881 ; 
the  University  of  New  Brunswick  gave  him  the  degree  of 

C  477   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

LL.D.  in  1900.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  instructor,  combin- 
ing the  scientist's  interest  in  nature  with  that  of  the  poet ;  he 
pubHshed  several  botanical  books  and  a  volume  of  poems. 
Through  years  of  almost  constant  pain  his  cheerfulness  and 
wit  made  him  a  delightful  teacher  and  friend. 

After  completing  more  than  half  a  century  of  continu- 
ous service — a  record  unequaled  in  the  history  of  the  uni- 
versity—  Professor  John  H.  Appleton  retired  in  1914  as 
professor  emeritus.  He  became  assistant  in  chemistry  in 
1863,  instructor  in  1865,  and  professor  in  1868  ;  under  his 
direction  the  department  of  chemistry  has  had  steady  de- 
velopment, and  has  kept  in  close  touch  with  the  manu- 
facturing industries  of  the  state.  Professor  Appleton  is  vice- 
president  of  the  American  Chemical  Society,  and  is  the 
author  of  numerous  books  on  chemistry. 

In  the  midst  of  all  changes  the  Corporation  and  Faculty 
have  maintained  or  bettered  the  ancient  ideals  of  the  uni- 
versity. Religious  intolerance  is  still  a  stranger  on  College 
Hill.  Throughout  a  recent  agitation  over  proposed  changes 
in  the  charter,  there  was  no  hint  of  sectarianism  in  the  ad- 
ministration or  the  teaching.  "During  recent  years,"  wrote 
President  Faunce  in  his  report  for  1908-09,  "we  have 
constantly  had  at  our  chapel  service  Protestants  and  Roman 
Catholics,  Hebrews,  Confucianists  and  Buddhists,  and  I 
have  yet  to  hear  of  anyone  of  them  who  complained  that  the 
service  was  an  invasion  of  his  religious  conviction.  They 
have  all  realized  that  our  worship  is  so  broad  in  its  method 
and  content  that  conscientious  objection  to  it  would  betray 
a  sectarian  mind."  The  Hon.  James  H.  Higgins,  of  the 
class  of  1898,  a  Roman  Catholic,  said  at  an  alumni  dinner 
in  1907:  "What  pleases  the  student  greatly  in  his  four 
years  at  Bro\\^n  is  the  fairness  and  equality  which  seem  to 
pervade  the  very  atmosphere  on  College  Hill.  Nominally  a 

C   478   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Baptist  institution,  it  is  really  a  stronghold  of  liberality, 
broad-mindedness,  and  toleration." 

Scholarship  among  Faculty  and  students  was  ne\er 
higher  than  now.  The  former  have  had  healthful  diversity 
of  training:  fifty-four  per  cent  of  the  teachers  of  professo- 
rial rank  hold  first  degrees  from  colleges  other  than  Brow  n, 
and  sixty-five  per  cent  have  studied  at  tw  o  or  more  insti- 
tutions; fifty-six  per  cent  are  Doctors  of  Philosophy.  The 
students  are  held  to  stricter  requirements  than  ever  before. 
The  entrance  requirements  for  the  degree  of  Ph.B.  were 
raised  in  1903  to  practical  equality  with  those  for  the  degree 
of  A.B.;  those  for  engineering  courses  were  raised  in  1902 
and  in  1906.  The  entrance  requirements  for  the  degree  of 
A.B.  were  broadened  in  1902  by  alloA\'ing  substitutes  for  one 
of  the  two  ancient  languages,  and  again  in  1913  by  widen- 
ing the  range  of  choice  among  other  subjects.  Brown  Univer- 
sity, in  common  with  other  colleges,  has  benefited  by  the 
formation  in  1903  of  the  New  England  College  Certificate 
Board,  which  has  lessened  the  evils  incident  to  the  certificate 
system  of  admission. 

In  the  courses  leading  to  the  degrees  of  A.B.  and  Ph.B. , 
changes  intended  to  check  the  abuse  of  the  elective  system 
have  been  made.  Since  1902  candidates  for  the  former  de- 
gree have  been  required  to  take  courses  in  an  ancient  lan- 
guage, a  modern  language,  mathematics,  English,  history, 
physical  or  natural  science,  economics,  social  and  political 
science,  and  philosophy,  the  total  amount  being  thirty-four 
year-hours  (an  increase  of  eight)  out  of  the  sixtv-three  ne- 
cessary for  graduation.  In  19 1 1  the  amount  of  required  work 
for  the  degree  of  Ph.B.  was  made  substantiallv  the  same; 
and  concentration  in  one  department  or  indicated  group 
of  departments,  to  the  extent  of  four  year-courses,  was  re- 
quired. Thoughtfulness  in  the  selection  of  subjects  and  con- 

[  479  ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

tinuity  in  the  pursuit  of  them  are  encouraged  by  the  regula- 
tion, adopted  in  1905,  that  each  studentmust  elect  his  courses 
for  the  entire  year.  A  return  to  the  semester  system,  in  1911 , 
works  to  the  same  end,  and  favors  broader  views  and  more 
thorough  preparation  for  examination.  Second  examinations 
in  case  of  failure  were  abolished  at  the  end  of  the  present 
academic  year.  New  incentives  to  high  and  broad  scholar- 
ship have  been  created.  Since  1904  Commencement  ap- 
pointments have  been  made  on  the  basis  of  scholarship,  abil- 
ity to  write,  and  ability  to  speak ;  and  final  departmental 
honors  have  been  awarded  to  students  who  attain  high  rank. 
Several  endowed  scholarships,  some  jaelding  considerable 
sums,  and  honor  scholarships  without  stipend  have  been 
established.  Elections  to  Phi  Beta  Kappa  receive  more  pub- 
licity and  honor;  and  the  Sigma  Xi  Society,  a  chapter  of 
which  was  founded  at  Brown  in  1900,  stimulates  under- 
graduates and  graduate  students  to  do  original  work  in 
science.  Since  1903  students  who  show  more  than  average 
ability  and  industry  have  been  allowed  to  take  additional 
courses,  and  thus  obtain  their  first  degree  in  three  years  or 
a  bachelor's  degree  and  a  master's  degree  together  at  the 
end  of  four  years. 

The  curriculum  has  been  enriched,  not  by  adding  new 
departments,  but  by  widening  and  deepening  the  instruc- 
tion in  departments  already  established.  The  number  of 
hours  of  instruction  offered  per  week  has  increased  from 
458^  in  1897-98  to  620><  in  1913-14,  the  increase  being 
greatest  in  the  departments  of  biology,  chemistry,  mathe- 
matics, physics  (including  electrical  engineering), civil  and 
mechanical  engineering,  economics,  political  and  social  sci- 
ence, education,  and  philosophy.  Many  of  the  new  courses 
are  of  an  advanced  nature,  and  consequently  there  has  been 
considerable  increase  in  the  number  of  graduate  degrees 

[  480   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

taken :  during  the  period,  beginning  in  1888,  in  which  mas- 
ter's and  doctor's  degrees  have  been  given  after  exam- 
ination, 627  of  the  former  and  63  of  the  latter  have  been 
granted ;  467  and  43  of  these,  respectively,  have  been  given 
since  1899.  Twenty-five  candidates  received  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Science,  which  was  first  given  at  Brown  in  1905. 
Laboratory  and  seminary  methods  have  become  general ; 
nearly  all  the  departments  now  have  their  laboratories  or  sem- 
inary rooms,  with  departmental  libraries,  where  advanced 
work  is  done  by  graduate  students  and  upper  classmen. 
Especially  worthy  of  note  are  the  quarters  of  the  department 
of  economics,  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  old  librarv  build- 
ing, with  a  special  library  of  more  than  fifteen  thousand  vol- 
umes ;  and  the  pathological  laboratory  of  the  United  States 
bureau  of  forestry,  established  in  1912,  in  connection  with 
the  department  of  botany. 

The  greater  efficiency  of  the  university  is  due  partlv  to 
better  organization.  The  office  of  dean  was  created  in  1900, 
and  was  filled  very  ably  for  one  year  by  Professor  W' inslow 
Upton.  His  successor,  Professor  Alexander  Meiklejohn,  did 
invaluable  service  for  eleven  years,  in  his  relations  to  both 
the  Faculty  and  the  students.  Upon  his  retirement,  in  1912, 
to  take  the  presidency  of  Amherst  College,  he  was  succeeded 
bv  Professor  Otis  E.  Randall.  A  reduction  in  the  number  of 
Faculty  committees,  with  concentration  of  power  inonecom- 
mittee,  has  resulted  in  more  consistent  policy  and  greater 
dispatch  in  the  routine  business  of  the  Faculty.  Something 
has  been  done  toward  bringing  the  departments  into  closer 
touch  with  one  another,  to  avoid  duplication  of  courses  and 
secure  unity  of  view  in  presenting  subjects.  The  graduate 
work  has  been  effectively  reorganized  since  the  appointment 
of  Professor  Carl  Barus,  in  1903,  as  dean  of  the  graduate 
department. 

C   481    ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Cooperation  on  a  wider  scale  has  been  a  conspicuous 
achievement  of  the  present  administration.  The  university 
has  been  brought  into  closer  relations  with  other  educational 
institutions,  with  the  community  as  a  whole,  and  with  the 
alumni  and  other  educated  men  throughout  the  country. 
Some  courses  in  the  Rhode  Island  School  of  Design  count 
toward  a  degree  in  the  university,  and  students  of  the  school 
are  admitted  to  any  university  classes  for  which  they  are 
prepared.  Newton  Theological  Institution  accepts  toward 
its  degree  certain  universit}^  courses  amounting  to  nearly  a 
year's  work.  The  state  of  Rhode  Island  appropriates  $5000 
annually  for  graduate  courses  in  education  and  for  scholar- 
ships to  graduate  students  of  education.  The  city  of  Provi- 
dence appoints  several  student-teachers  yearly  from  grad- 
uates of  the  university  who  have  taken  courses  in  education, 
and  a  similar  arrangement  has  recently  been  made  with  the 
city  of  Fall  River.  Men  of  prominence  in  the  community 
and  elsewhere  are  members  of  the  visiting  committees  which 
annually  hold  conferences  with  the  various  departments. 
The  community  in  general  has  shared  in  the  life  of  the  uni- 
versity by  attending  public  lectures  and  vesper  sermons. 
Recitals  upon  the  great  organ  in  Sayles  Hall,  the  gift  of 
Lucian  Sharpe  in  1903,  have  drawn  thousands  on  Sunday 
afternoons  to  the  college  grounds.  University  extension  was 
revived  in  a  new  form,  in  1906,  by  courses  of  lectures  given 
in  the  college  buildings.  The  alumni  have  been  brought 
into  closer  touch  with  the  university  and  with  one  another. 
The  Brown  University  Teachers'  Association,  formed  in 
1903,  assembles  hundreds  of  Brown  graduates,  with  other 
teachers,  at  the  university  each  year,  to  discuss  problems 
of  interest  to  school  and  college  alike.  The  Brown  Alumni 
Monthly^  started  in  1900,  keeps  thousands  of  graduates  in- 
formed of  what  is  doing  on  the  campus.  Some  fifteen  new 

C   482   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

alumni  associations,  making  twenty-seven  in  all,  have  been 
formed  in  widely  separated  sections  of  the  rountrv  and  the 
^^■orld.  As  a  result  of  all  this  the  alumni  have  more  influence 
upon  the  life  and  policy  of  the  university  than  ever  before. 

In  undergraduate  life  the  notable  tendencies  are  tow  ard 
more  careful  superxision  by  Faculty  and  alumni,  an  in- 
creased number  of  organizations,  and  some  degree  of  self- 
government. 

Since  1900  there  has  been  an  attempt  to  make  plainer 
the  way  of  the  freshmen  by  designating  members  of  the 
Faculty  as  their  advisers.  A  Faculty  supervisor  of  athletics 
w^as  appointed  in  1906,  and  a  Faculty  supervisor  of  non- 
athletic  organizations  in  1913.  The  Christian  Association 
has  had  a  graduate  secretary  and  advisory  committee  for 
several  years,  and  the  BroA\n  Union  a  graduate  treasurer 
and  board  of  management  since  its  formation  in  1904. 

Student  organizations  are  legion.  The  Greek-letter  socie- 
ties have  increased  to  twenty,  with  a  membership  of  about 
two-thirds  of  all  the  undergraduate  men.  Chapter  houses 
are  either  owned  or  rented  by  ten  of  the  societies,  and  other 
societies  are  assigned  groups  of  rooms  or  entire  sections  in 
the  college  dormitories.  The  Christian  Association  now  gives 
itself  chiefly  to  social  service,  aiding  freshmen  to  get  started, 
securing  work  for  many  students  through  its  employment 
bureau,  and  cooperating  A\ith  religious  and  charitable  or- 
ganizations in  the  city.  The  membership  of  the  Brown 
Union  includes  most  of  the  undergraduates  besides  many 
alumni  and  members  of  the  Faculty,  and  in  its  rooms  stu- 
dents, graduates,  and  Faculty  meet  on  familiar  terms.  There 
are  three  musical  clubs.  The  Sock  and  Buskin  gives  a  play 
yearly,  during  "Junior  Week  "  ;  and  Pi  Kappa,  a  junior 
society,  presents  an  original  farce  at  the  same  time.  Intercol- 
legiate debating  has  given  rise  to  the  Debating  Union.  The 

Z  483   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

Sphinx  exists  for  the  discussion  of  philosophical  and  other 
problems.  The  Wastebasket  Club  is  a  group  of  students  and 
professors  interested  in  creative  writing.  The  engineering 
students  and  teachers  have  a  society  for  the  consideration 
of  engineering  questions. 

All  these  organizations  give  training  in  self-government. 
But  through  two  others  the  students  as  a  whole  exercise 
a  degree  of  self-government  on  a  wider  scale.  The  Camma- 
rian  Club,  consisting  of  twelve  seniors,  men  of  recognized 
leadership  and  force  of  character,  who  are  chosen  by  pop- 
ular vote  from  nominees  by  the  club,  has  come  to  exert  a 
strong  influence  on  college  sentiment  and  action,  and  the 
President  and  Dean  have  placed  more  and  more  responsi- 
bility upon  it.  In  1906  the  Faculty  voted  to  grant  the  stu- 
dents a  large  measure  of  self-government  in  the  management 
of  athletic  sports,  for  the  reason  that  the  attempt  of  college 
authorities  to  enforce  unpopular  rules  had  served  only  to  fos- 
ter deceit  among  undergraduates.  The  vote  laid  down  the 
following  principle:  "The  Faculty  .  .  .  should  determine 
under  what  rules  as  to  scholarship  and  attendance  partici- 
pation in  athletics  should  be  allowed.  .  .  .  To  students 
should  be  entrusted  the  choice  of  regulations  concerning 
organization,  rules  of  play  and  eligibility,  apart  from  mat- 
ters of  scholarship  and  attendance ;  and  of  them  must  be 
demanded  that  they  conduct  their  games  and  affairs  hon- 
estly and  fairly."  The  students,  acting  through  the  Ath- 
letic Association,  promptly  abolished  the  rule  that  forbade 
playing  for  money  on  "  summer  nines,"  but  still  debarred 
from  college  teams  men  who  had  played  on  professional 
league  teams.  As  to  the  results  of  this  experiment  in  stu- 
dent self-government  during  the  last  eight  years,  the  chair- 
man of  the  Faculty  committee  on  athletic  organizations  has 
recently  said  :  ' '  There  is  no  longer  any  evasion  or  conceal- 

C  484  3 


HISTORY  OF   BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

ment,  no  reason  to  feel  uncertain  as  to  the  real  status  of  the 
teams.  .  .  .  The  rules  meet  w  ith  practicallv  universal  sup- 
port on  the  part  of  students,  faculty,  and  alumni.  .  .  .  We 
never  before  had  such  an  atmosphere  of  clean  sport  and  fair 
conduct  as  that  which  now  prevails  in  our  athletics." 

The  development  of  the  Women's  College  has  in  general 
been  parallel  to  that  of  the  university  as  a  \\  hole.  Th(M-e 
has  been  some  gain  in  number  of  students,  which  has  in- 
creased to  over  two  hundred ;  but  the  chief  progress  has 
been  in  material  and  intellectual  resources  and  in  social  life. 
At  the  beginning  of  Dr.  Faunce's  administration  the  en- 
dowment of  the  Women's  College  was  $60,000;  it  is  now 
$280,453.  In  1899  Pembroke  Hall  was  the  only  building. 
In  1900  Mrs.  Horatio  N.  Slater  gave  the  fine  old  family 
mansion  at  66  Benefit  Street  as  a  dormitory,  a  purpose 
which  it  served  admirablv  for  several  years.  In  1906  an  ur- 
gent need  \\  as  met  by  the  erection  of  Sayles  Gymnasium  in 
the  rear  of  Pembroke  Hall,  at  a  cost  of  $50,000,  the  gift  of 
Frank  A.  Sayles;  and  an  endowment  of  $25,000  has  since 
been  secured.  With  the  growth  in  number  of  students,  an 
increasing  proportion  of  whom  came  from  a  distance,  the 
need  for  a  larger  dormitory  became  pressing;  and  in  1910 
Miller  Hall  w  as  built  on  Cushing  Street,  near  the  gymna- 
sium, on  land  given  by  a  member  of  the  Corporation.  The 
greater  part  of  the  cost, about  $75,000,  was  met  by  the  be- 
quest of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Horace  G.  Miller ;  the  rest  was  given 
by  a  few  friends  of  the  college.  The  building  is  colonial  in 
style,  beautiful  in  its  lines  and  beautifully  furnished  ;  it  has 
forty-eight  single  rooms  for  students,  besides  reception  rooms 
and  a  dining-room,  and  forms  a  social  center  for  all  the  uo- 
men  students.  Land  to  the  east  of  Pembroke  Hall  and  Sayles 
Gymnasium  has  been  laid  out  in  an  attractive  campus.  On 
its  northern  side  a  handsome  iron  gate,  ^\ith  brick  posts, 

[  485   J  ^ 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

was  erected  in  1913  by  the  class  of  1900  in  memory  of 
their  classmate,  Josephine  M.  Scholfield. 

Dean  Snow  retired  in  1900,  and  was  succeeded  by  Annie 
Crosby  Emery,  Ph.D.,  Litt.D.,  a  graduate  of  Bryn  Mawr, 
and  for  several  years  dean  of  women  in  the  University  of 
Wisconsin.  By  her  union  of  scholarship  with  social  charm 
she  raised  the  college  to  a  higher  level  of  intellectuality 
and  culture.  She  resigned  in  1905,  to  become  the  wife  of 
Professor  Francis  G.  Allinson,  of  the  Brown  Faculty,  but 
still  has  an  official  connection  with  the  Women's  College  as 
a  member  of  its  Advisory  Council.  Her  successor  is  Lida 
Shaw  King,  Litt.D.,  LL.D.,  a  graduate  of  Vassar  and 
Brown,  formerly  a  student  of  archaeology  in  Greece  and 
head  of  the  classical  department  in  Packer  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute. Under  her  leadership  the  Women's  College  has  contin- 
ued to  develop  rapidly.  The  college  was  brought  into  closer 
administrative  relation  with  the  university  in  1903  by  the 
creation  of  an  Executive  Committee  consisting  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  university,  the  dean  of  the  Women's  College, 
and  three  members  of  the  Corporation.  The  Advisory 
Council,  a  bond  between  the  college  and  the  Rhode  Island 
Society  for  the  Collegiate  Education  of  Women,  was  in- 
creased to  seven  members  in  1906,  the  two  additional  mem- 
bers being  chosen  by  the  Corporation  from  alumnae  nomi- 
nated by  the  Alumnae  Association. 

The  curriculum  of  the  Women's  College  has  been  much 
enlarged.  In  1897-98  courses  aggregating  84^  hours  of 
instruction  per  week  were  given ;  they  represented  sixteen 
of  the  twenty-five  departments  of  the  university,  and  were 
conducted  by  sixteen  professors  and  ten  instructors.  In 
1913-14  thirty-eight  professors  and  eight  instructors  or 
assistants  gave  courses  representing  twenty-one  departments 
and  occupying  148  hours  weeklv.  Undergraduate  women 

C   486   ] 


HISTORY  OF   BKOWN  UNIVERSITY 

students  are  also  admitted,  on  recommendation  of  the  dean, 
to  certain  university  courses ;  and  all  have  the  use  of  the 
John  Hay  Library  and  the  special  lil:)raries,  on  the  same 
terms  as  the  imderg-raduate  men.  There  are  ten  endowed 
scholarships  for  w  omen,  and  four  prizes  for  essays  and  sto- 
ries ;  the  prize  examinations  of  the  university  are  also  open 
to  women,  the  winners  receiving  collateral  |)rizes  of  ecjual 
value  with  those  established  for  men.  The  scholarshij)  of 
the  women  students  remains  high,  and  they  earn  more  than 
their  share  of  final  honors.  A  surprisingly  large  number  have 
w^on  advanced  degrees  :  of  the  672  graduated  between  1894 
and  1913,  inclusive,  111  have  taken  the  degree  of  A.M.  and 
5  the  degree  of  Ph.D.  The  students  of  the  Women's  Col- 
lege were  first  elected  to  membership  in  Phi  Beta  Kappa  in 
1900;  in  1914  a  separate  section  of  theBrown  chapter,  called 
the  Women's  College  Section  of  the  Rhode  Island  Alpha  of 
the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  was  established.  Women  are 
also  elected  to  membership  in  the  Sigma  Xi  Society. 

The  Student  Government  Association,  organized  in  Dean 
Emery's  first  year  and  intrusted  with  "the  regulation  of  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  social  life  of  the  students  and  of 
certain  academic  matters  involving  conduct,"  has  proved 
very  successful  in  outward  results  and  as  training  in  self- 
government.  Greek-letter  societies  prospered  for  se\'eral 
years,  but  in  1911  they  were  suppressed  as  not  beneficial 
to  the  social  life  of  the  students  as  a  whole.  Athletic,  musi- 
cal, and  dramatic  organizations  thrive,  however;  a  Chris- 
tian Association  does  work  similar  to  that  of  the  men's  as- 
sociation;  and  two  publications  are  supported,  Tlw  Scpiad, 
a  magazine,  and  the  Briin  M(vl^  an  annual  corresponding 
to  the  L\ber  Bninensis.  The  women  candidates  receive  their 
degrees  with  the  men  at  Commencement,  but  have  an  Ivy 
Day  of  their  own,  corresponding  to  Class  Dav. 

C   487   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

The  alumnae  have  shown  much  active  loyalty  to  the  col- 
lege and  the  university.  The  Andrews  Association,  formed 
in  1900  by  some  of  the  alumnae,  worked  zealously  for  sev- 
eral 3'ears  "to  promote  the  interests  of  the  Women's  Col- 
lege, "supplying  the  reading-room  with  periodicals  and  rais- 
ing money  for  a  gymnasium  fund.  In  1906  was  organized 
the  Alumnae  Association  of  Brown  University,  including 
all  the  alumnae,  and  the  next  year  the  Andrews  Associa- 
tion merged  itself  in  the  new  organization.  The  Alumnae 
Association  has  aided  the  college  in  many  ways.  It  has  cul- 
tivated the  social  life  of  the  undergraduates  by  teas,  recep- 
tions, lectures,  and  plays;  it  has  contributed  to  the  gymna- 
sium fund ;  for  several  years  it  bore  the  whole  expense  of 
one  course  in  the  college ;  and  it  is  now  raising  money  for 
a  graduate  fellowship.  The  annual  meeting,  on  the  Satur- 
day before  Commencement,  has  combined  business  with 
intellectual  and  social  features.  A  mid-winter  banquet,  on 
alternate  years,  is  attended  by  many  alumnae  and  under- 
graduates and  by  members  of  the  Faculty  and  Corporation. 
Local  alumnae  associations  have  been  formed  in  Boston  and 
New  York. 

What  position  does  Brown  University  hold  to-day  among 
the  colleges  of  New  England?  After  seven  years  of  service 
on  the  Brown  Faculty,  a  graduate  of  another  and  venerable 
American  university  wrote  thus  in  1908:  "It  would  ap- 
pear that  there  is,  in  New  England,  no  other  institution  just 
like  Brown,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  her  exact  counter- 
part can  be  found  outside  of  New  England ....  In  the  size 
of  her  graduate  school  and  the  spirit  and  method  of  her  lib- 
eral courses  of  undergraduate  study,  she  appears  sharply 
distinguished  from  other  American  colleges.  Shall  we,  then, 
style  her  a  small  university  ?  .  .  .  This  title  may  obscure  the 
fact  that  she  is,  in  reality  and  in  present  aim,  predominantly 

C  488   ] 


HISTORY  OF  BROWN  UNIVERSITY 

an  undergraduate  institution.  .  .  .  Brown,  on  theother  hand, 
strives  to  introduce  undergraduates  into  scientific  metiiods 
of  work.  She  has  de\  eloped  the  seminar  method  to  a  remark- 
able degree.  Into  the  seminars  she  admits,  m  ith  graduates, 
all  undergraduates  who  sho^\  any  aptitude  for  training  in 
investigation.  .  .  .  The  problem  that  lies  before  all  the  stronger 
institutions  is  to  mingle,  in  due  proportion,  the  best  from  the 
old  English-American  college  with  the  best  from  the  modern 
German  university.  To  me,  it  is  evident  that  no  other  New 
England  institution,  and  noother  that  I  know outsideof  New 
England,  has  gone  so  far  in  soh  ing  this  problem  as  Brown. 
Through  its  relatively  small  size,  its  democratic  traditions, 
its  whole  history,  in  fact,  and  the  Rhode  Island  air  w  hich 
it  breathes,  this  has  been  possible.  .  .  .  Young  men  \\ho 
are  fitted  to  profit  by  the  spirit  of  intellectual  freedom  and 
who  desire,  with  this,  the  close  contacts  of  an  American 
college  should  not  be  left  ignorant  of  Brown,  the  university 
college. ' ' 

For  a  century  and  a  half  Brown  University  has  sho\\n  a 
principle  of  life  that  could  adapt  itself  to  changing  human 
needs.  From  a  small  colonial  college  with  a  narrow  curric- 
ulum, designed  chiefly  to  fit  youth  for  the  ministry,  she  has 
grown  with  the  growth  of  the  country  and  the  times,  imtil 
her  courses  of  study  cover  the  modern  world  of  thought  and 
prepare  her  sons  and  daughters  for  the  varied  activities  of 
the  present  age.  The  graduates  and  friends  of  the  univer- 
sity mav  therefore  feel  sure,  as  thev  close  the  record  of  her 
past,  that  in  the  centuries  to  come,  amid  conditions  that  can 
be  but  dimly  guessed,  she  will  continue  her  beneficent  work 
for  the  spirits  of  men . 


[   489   ] 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX  A 
THE  CHARTER 

I 

PETITIONS  I-OU  A  CIIARri:U 

IN  the  archivt's  of  tlic  uni\ci-sit\'  is  the  following  petition,  with  auto- 
gi-aph  signatures : 

C-olonv  of         \y 

Rhode  Island   J  ^'^ 

To  theHon'ble  theGeneral  Assembly  of  his  Majesty's 
Colony  of  Rhode  Island  to  be  held  at  Newport  on  the 
fii-st  Monday  of  August  AD  1  763,  by  Adjourtunent. 

The  Petition  of  diveree  of  the  Inhabitants  of  said  Colony. 
Whereas  Institutions  for  liberal  Edueation  are  highly  benefirial  to  Soci- 
ety by  forming  the  rising  (feneration  to  Virtue  Knowledge  and  usefull 
Literature  and  thus  preserving  in  a  Community  a  Succession  of  Men 
cjualified  for  discharging  the  offices  of  Life  with  Usefullness  and  Reputa- 
tion They  have  always  merited  and  receivd  the  Publick  Attention  k  En- 
couragement of  every  wise  Polite  and  well  regulated  State  And  whereas 
a  Publick  School  or  Seminary  erected  for  this  Purpose  Avithin  this  Colony 
to  which  the  Youth  may  freely  resort  for  Education  in  the  vernacular  and 
learned  Languages  and  Instruction  in  the  liberal  Arts  and  Sciences  woud  be 
for  the  general  Advantage  and  Honour  of  this  Ciovernment  And  whereas 
there  is  a  confess'd  Absence  of  Polite  Sc  usefull  Learning  in  this  Colony 
Your  Petitionei-s  affected  with  a  deep  Sense  thereof  and  prompted  alone 
by  Motives  drawn  from  the  Publick  Good  and  desirous  as  far  as  in  them 
lies  to  subserve  the  Political  Interests  of  this  his  Majesty's  Colony  and  soli- 
citous for  cultivating  the  Moralls  and  improving  the  Knowledge  of  the 
rising  Generation  upon  which  Foundation  the  Harmony  good  Oixler  and 
Reputation  of  Society  depend  HuAnjLV  shew  tliat  for  the  good  Ititents 
and  Purposes  above  mentioned  they  have  concerted  and  plaim'd  the  Char- 
ter herewith  presented  and  the  same  having  carefully  considered  and  re- 
vised do  propose  and  submit  to  the  Consideration  of  this  hon'l)le  AsstMiibly 
recjuesting  your  Honours  that  out  of  your  great  Regard  ibr  usefull  Lit- 
erature and  the  good  Moralls  of  the  Youth  of  this  Colony  and  others  tlial 
may  resort  to  the  same  for  the  Ad\antage  of  l^ducation  woud  give  youi- 
Assent  to  and  grant  and  confirm  the  aforesd.  Charter  with  all  it's  Powei-s 
Priviledges  Sc  Immunities  as  amply  and  fully  as  in  said  Chartei"  is  sjx'ci- 
fied  and  express'd.  And  your  Petitioners  as  in  Duty  bound  will  ever  Pray  Sec 

Nicho.  Tillinghast  Sam.  Ward  J  Gardner 

Charles  Wickham  Job  Bennet  Jos:  Sanford 

Silas  Cook  Joshua  Clarke  John  Tillinghast 

Peter  Mumford  Gardner  Thurston  Nicholas  Easton 

[   493   ] 


APPENDIX 


Sam.  Fowler 
Jos  Clarke 

Thos:  Roflman  Doctr 
Thos.  Wickham  Jr. 
Benjn:  Mason 
Thomas  Rodman 
Henry  Ward 
John  Bowrs 
Oliver  Arnold 
Willm:  Burroughs 
Standft  Wyatt 
Wm.  Taggart 


Josias  Lyndon 
John  Wheaton 
William  EUery  junr 
Jona.  Willson 
Gideon  Cornell 
Martin  Howard 
Israel  Brayton 
Paul  Coffin 
Charles  Bardin 
John  Treby 
Benj  Sherburne 
Silvester  Child 
Caleb  Gardner 
Jonathan  Nichols 
Shubael  Barr 
Naphly  (?)  Hart  Junr 
Jona  Easton 
Jonat.  Otis 


Joshua  Saunders 
James  Tanner 
John  Tanner 
Robt  Stevins 
Saml  Greene 
Joseph  G  Wanton 
David  Moore 
Saml.  Lyndon 
Elnathan  Hammond 
Nathan  Rice 
Jas:  Gardner 
Clarke  Brown 
Benjn.  Hall 
Eze-kl  Burroughs 
Jos.  Rodman 
Jonathan  Rogers 
Cromel  Child 
Robt  Potter 
Wm  Vernon 
Wm :  Rogers 


This  petition  referred  to  the  charter  drafted  by  Ezra  Stiles.  At  the  Oc- 
tober session  of  the  Assembly  a  petition  for  the  charter  as  amended 
by  the  Baptists  was  presented  and  rejected.  It  contained  the  words, 
"And  whereas  a  Plan  for  a  Chailer  for  erecting  a  publick  School 
or  Seminary  within  this  Colony  now  lies  before  the  General  Assembly 
wherein  are  divers  Things  contained  tending  to  finstrate  the  good 
Design  which  the  Generality  of  ye.  Petitioners  in  ye  former  Peti- 
tion had  in  view."  The  petitioners  were  all  Baptists — Elisha  Rey- 
nolds, Thomas  Eyres,  Thomas  Potter,  Jr.,  Gideon  Hoxsey,  John 
Holmes,  Daniel  Jenckes,  James  Barker,  Jr.,  Josias  Lyndon,  John 
Waterman,  Ezekiel  Gardner,  Nicholas  Gardiner,  and  Nicholas  Til- 
linghast. 

A  similar  petition  was  prepared  for  presentation  at  the  session  in 
January,  1764,  but  on  account  of  pressure  of  business  it  was  not 
taken  up. 

At  the  Februar)'  session  four  petitions,  which  had  circulated  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  state  and  bore  two  hundred  and  twent}— one  names, 
were  presented,  and  resulted  in  the  granting  of  the  charter  which  Brown 
University  now  holds.  The  petitions  were  all  worded  alike,  and  con- 
tained this  passage :  "  And  whereas  a  Plan  or  Charter  for  erecting  a 
Publick  School  or  Seminar)^  of  Learning  within  this  Colony  was  pre- 
sented to  the  General  Assembly  at  their  Session  at  Newport  in  Au- 
gust last,  which  Plan  upon  a  Review  and  Examination  was  found  to 

C  494   ] 


APPENDIX 

be  different  fi"om  the  Original  Design  and  Intent  thereof  and  conti-aiy 
to  what  man\'  ot  the  Petitioners  liad  in  \iew." 


II 

THE  STILKS  CHARTER 

In  the  archives  of  the  university  is  a  copy  of  Dr.  Ezra  Stiles's  draft  of 
a  charter  for  a  college  in  Rhode  Island.  The  hand  is  apparently  that 
of  Dr.  Stiles.  Dr.  Reuben  A.  Guild,  former  liljrarian  of  the  uni\'ersit\-, 
has  prefixed  the  following  statement,  dated  May  4,  1864,  about  the 
finding  of  the  manuscript:  "The  present  document  was  found  some 
thirt}''  }'ears  ago,  among  the  old  files  and  papers  of  the  chinxh  in  New- 
port, over  which  Dr.  Stiles  was  Pastor.  .  .  ,  The  Rev.  A.  H.  Dumont, 
into  whose  hands,  as  Pastor  of  the  church,  the  document  naturalh'  fell, 
kept  it  for  some  time,  and  then  gave  it  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  B. 
Sprague  of  Albany,  as  an  addition  to  his  autograph  collection.  The 
Librarian,  having  ascertained  this  fact,  entered  into  a  correspondence 
with  Dr.  Sprague  which  resulted  in  placing  it  in  the  College  Librar\'." 

Whether  this  was  the  copy  submitted  to  the  Assembly  and  then  lost, 
is  ver}^  doubtful;  more  probably  it  is  Dr.  Stiles's  pri\ate  cop\'.  Except 
for  spelling,  capitalization,  punctuation,  and  minor  ^■erbal  differences, 
it  is  for  the  most  part  identical  with  the  charter  granted  in  1764.  There 
are,  however,  several  essential  differences,  the  more  important  of 
which  are  as  follows: 

The  initiatory  address  shows  that  the  charter  was  to  come  up  for 
consideration  at  the  '''■  General  Assembly  held  at  Newport  ...  on  the 
first  monday  of  August  Anno  Domini  One  Thousand  seven  hundred 
&  sixty  three." 

Of  the  fortv-six  men  named  as  petitioners,  all  but  eleven  are  differ- 
ent from  those  in  the  charter  of  1764;  nineteen  of  the  trustees  and  four 
of  the  fellows  are  the  same  in  the  two  documents. 

The  Stiles  charter  provided  for  thirty-five  trustees,  instead  of  thirty- 
six.  Nineteen  were  to  be  Baptists,  seven  CongregationalisLs  or  Pres- 
b>i:erians,  five  Quakers,  and  four  Episcopalians.  The  charter  of  1 764 
made  the  number  of  Baptists  twenty-two.  Episcopalians  five,  and  Con- 
gregationalists  four. 

'  The  October,  January,  and  February  petitions  are  in  the  Rhode  Island 
Statehouse. 

[  495   ] 


APPENDIX 

In  the  Stiles  charter  eight  of  the  tw  elve  fellows  were  to  be  Congre- 
gationalists;  in  the  charter  of  1764  eight  are  Baptists.  In  the  former 
charter  eight  fellows  were  necessan,'  to  a  quorum ;  in  the  latter,  five. 

According  to  the  Stiles  charter  the  president  might  be  of  any  Pro- 
testant denomination;  the  charter  of  1764  specifies  that  he  shall  be  a 
Baptist. 

The  Stiles  charter  provided  that  a  trustee  or  fellow  who  removed 
out  of  the  colony  thereby  vacated  his  place  on  the  Corporation.  The 
effect  of  this  provision  would  have  been  to  make  the  college  more 
exclusively  a  Rhode  Island  institution  and  to  bar  from  its  governing 
board  the  Baptist  leaders  in  the  Philadelphia  Association.  If  the  Cor- 
poration neglected  for  more  than  a  year  to  fill  vacancies,  each  branch 
might  fill  its  own. 

In  view  of  the  Baptist  majorit}'  in  one  branch  and  the  Congre- 
gationalist  in  the  other,  the  division  of  power  between  the  two  in  the 
Stiles  charter  is  of  special  significance :  ^  There  shall  be,  in  the  Exer- 
cise of  their  respective  separate  &  distinct  powers,  the  joynt  concur- 
rence of  the  Trustees  &  Fellows  by  their  i-espective  Majorities,  Except, 
in  adjudging  &  conferring  the  academical  Degrees,  which  shall  for- 
ever belong  exclusively  to  the  Fellowship  as  a  learned  Faculty;  and 
the  Election  of  a  President^  which  shall  forever  belong  exclusively 
to  the  Tnistees^  they  the  said  Trustees  consulting  advising  with  & 
taking  the  opinion  of  the  learned  Faculty  previous  to  their  Choice  and 
Appointment  of  such  a  learned  and  important  Officer.  And  fiarther- 
more  it  is  constituted  that  the  Instruction,  immediate  Government  of 
the  College,  Nomination  of  all  Officers,  except  the  President,  together 
with  the  Origination  preparing  and  enacting  all  Laws,  shall  forever  be 
&  vest  in  the  President  &  Fellows  or  Fellowship :  and  that  the  Elec- 
tion of  the  President  and  Confirmation  of  all  Officers  &  Laws  shall 
forever  be  &  vest  in  the  Trustees."  "And  still  more  clearly  to  define 
&  ascertain  the  respective  Powers  of  the  two  Branches  on  making  & 
enacting  Laws  it  is  further  ordained  &  declared  that  the  Fellowship  & 
shall  have  power  and  they  are  hereby  impowered  from  Time  to  Time 
&  at  all  Times  hereafter  to  make  enact  &  publish  all  such  Laws  Stat- 
utes Regulations  &  ordinances  .  .  .  ;  and  the  same  Laws  Statutes  & 
ordinances  to  repeal: — which  Laws  &  the  Repeals  thereof  shall  be 
laid  before  the  Trustees,  and  with  their  Approbation  shall  be  of  Force 
&  Validity,  but  not  otherwise."  The  charter  of  1764  put  the  election 

[   496   ] 


APPENDIX 

of  the  president  and  professors  into  the  hands  of  the  whole  Coi-- 
poration,  and  took  awa\'  from  the  fellows  the  right  of  nominating 
professoi-s. 

The  provisions  regarding  religions  libert^'  are  fuller  in  the  Stiles 
draft.  After  the  passage  beginning,  "into  this  Liberal  &  catholic  In- 
stitution shall  never  be  admitted  any  religious  Tests,"  and  entling 
with  "the  Laws  &  Statutes  thereof,  "  comes  this  passage:  "And  that 
to  all  the  purposes  of  this  Corporation  Persons  of  different  Sects  shall 
be  sufficiently  distinguished  &  known  b\'  their  free  profession  or  dec- 
laration &  by  their  general  Attendance  on  the  public  Worship  of  dieir 
respective  Denominations.  And  it  is  hereb}'  ordained  &  declared  that 
in  this  College  shall  no  undue  Methods  or  Aits  be  practised  to  allure 
and  proselite  one  another,  or  to  insinuate  the  peculiar  principles  of  an\' 
one  or  other  of  the  Denom.  into  the  youth  in  general;  which  as  well 
as  the  Monopoly  of  Offices  might  discourage  the  sending  of  Students 
to  this  College,  involve  unhappy  Controversies  among  the  Instruc- 
tors &  defeat  this  good  Design:  and  it  is  thereupon  agreed  declared 
constituted  &  established  that  eveiy  Thing  of  this  Nature  shall  be  ac- 
counted a  Misdemeanor,  mutually  avoided  as  much  as  possible,  and  by 
all  the  Denominations  generoasly  disdained  and  discoimtenanced  as 
beneath  the  Dignit}'  &  foreign  from  the  true  Intention  of  this  Confed- 
eracy: that  accordingly  the  public  Teaching  shall  in  general  respect 
the  Sciences,  and  that  the  Sectarian  Differences  of  Opinion  and  Con- 
troversies on  the  peculiarities  of  Principle  shall  not  make  any  part  of 
the  public  &  classical  Instruction." 

The  words  after  the  last  colon  are  in  the  charter  of  1764  also,  with 
the  exception  of  " accordingly "  and  "and  Controversies  on  the  pe- 
culiarities of  Principle."  The  word  "  accordingly"  makes  it  plain  that 
the  much  discussed  phrase  in  the  charter  of  1764,  "the  Public  teach- 
ing shall  in  general  Respect  the  Sciences,"  was  originally  put  in  to  bar 
sectarian  teaching  and  not  to  secure  instruction  in  phAsical  science. 
"  Sciences"  was  evidently  used  in  its  common  sense  at  that  time,  mean- 
ing sure  truths,  in  whatever  field,  and  the  whole  may  be  paraphrased 
as  follows:  Instruction  in  the  class-rooms  shall  be  confined  to  those 
broad  fields  of  human  knowledge  that  the  learned  world  holds  in  com- 
mon, instead  of  dealing  with  doubtful  sectarian  disputes. 

After  making  the  concession,  as  the  charter  of  1764  does,  that  "all 
religious  Controversies  may  be  studied  freeh^  examined  &  explained 

C   497   ] 


APPENDIX 

by  the  President,  Professors  &  Tutors  in  a  personal  separate  &  dis- 
tinct Manner  to  the  youth  of  any  &  each  Denomination,"  the  Stiles 
charter  adds  the  safeguarding  phrase,  underscored  in  the  manuscript, 
''''they  or  their  parents  trquestinff  the  same?''  Th(tr&\va\-nt(X\ixX.c\y  fol- 
lows this  passage: "  And  that  in  this  the  President  Professors  &  Tutors 
shall  treat  the  Religion  of  each  Denom.  with  peculiar  Tenderness  Char- 
ity &  Respect;  so  that  neither  Denomination  shall  be  alarmed  with 
Jealousies  or  Apprehensions  of  any  illiberal  &  disingenuous  Attempts 
upon  one  another,  but  on  the  contrary  an  open  free  undesigning  & 
generous  Hannony  &  a  mutual  honorable  Respect  shall  be  recom- 
mended &  endeavored,  in  order  to  exhibit  an  Example  in  which  Lit- 
erature may  be  advanced  on  protestant  Harmony  &  the  most  perfect 
religious  Libert)^: — yet  nevertheless  shall  be  publickly  taught  &  ex- 
plained to  all  the  youth  the  Existence  Character  ^  Dominion  of  the 
supreme  Beings  the  general  Evidences  of  natural  ^  revealed  Religion^ 
and  x}i\^  Principles  of  Moral  Philosophy P  In  a  memorandum  written 
on  the  last  page,  in  the  same  hand,  is  the  statement,  "  And  the  whole 
Paragraph  for  securing  the  Freedom  of  Education  with  Respect  to 
Religion  [is]  so  mutilated  [i.e.,  in  the  charter  of  1764],  as  effectu- 
ally to  enable  &  empower  the  Baptists  to  practice  the  Arts  of  Insinua- 
tion &  proselj^ing  upon  the  youth,  by  private  Instruction  without 
the  Request  of  the  Parents."  The  memorandum  says  further:  "In- 
stead of  Eight  or  a  Majority  of  Congreg.  in  the  Branch  of  the  Fellow- 
ship, according  to  the  original  Agreement,  they  have  inserted  Eight 
Baptists;  thus  Assuming  a  Majority  of  about  Two  Thirds  in  both 
Branches  hereby  absorbing  the  whole  Power  &  Govt  of  the  College  & 
thus  by  the  Iinmutabilit}^  of  the  Numbers  establishing  it  a  Party  Col- 
lege more  explicitly  &  effectually  than  any  College  upon  the  Conti- 
nent." In  the  lower  corner  of  the  last  page  is  written,  still  in  the  same 
hand, "  For  the  Revd  Dr.  Cha.  Chauncy  Boston,"  which  seems  to 
indicate  that  the  memorandum  was  for  his  benefit. 

The  university  has  three  other  copies  of  the  Stiles  charter,  two  in 
the  archives  and  one  in  the  John  Carter  Brown  Library.  In  gen- 
eral they  agree  with  the  Stiles  draft,  but  a  comparative  study  reveals 
some  interesting  differences.  One  of  the  copies  in  the  archives  and  the 
copy  in  the  John  Carter  Brown  Library  are  fliU  of  clerical  errors  and 
illiterate  mistakes  (such  as  "decorum"  for  "quorum"  and  "avoid- 
able" for  "  available  ") ,  and  seem  to  have  been  very  hastily  made.  The 

[   498   ] 


APPENDIX 

second  copy  in  the  archives  is  written  in  a  small  but  clear  and  beau- 
tifijl  hand,  and  is  much  more  correcc  in  ptmctuation,  spelling,  and  use 
of  words.  The  names  of  the  petitioners,  trustees,  and  fellows  are  the 
same  and  in  the  same  order,  in  all  three,  except  for  t\vo  or  three  ob- 
vious clerical  mistakes  in  the  libran-  cop\'.  The  Stiles  draft,  on  the  other 
hand,  contiuns  twelve  names  of  petitioners  not  found  in  the  other  three 
copies,  omits  two  of  the  names  in  the  latter,  and  gives  se\eral  othei-s 
a  different  place  in  the  list.  In  the  list  of  trustees  the  Stiles  draft  has 
one  new  name,  and  omits  two  of  the  names  in  the  other  lists.  These 
facts  show  that  the  three  copies  were  not  made  from  the  Stiles  draft 
but  fi-om  some  other  original.  It  is  probable  that  copies  circulating 
in  different  sections  of  the  colon)-  would  contain  var\'ing  lists  of  per- 
sons desired  for  petitioners  and  members  of  the  Corporation,  in  order 
to  interest  local  leaders  in  the  ''Saluable  Design."  The  two  copies  in 
the  archives  have  a  very  significant  variation  from  either  of  the  others : 
in  the  clause  authorizing  the  Corporation  to  erect  college  buildings 
"in  such  place  within  this  Colony  as  the)'  shall  think  Convenient,"  are 
inserted  after  "place"  the  words  "on  Rhode  Island,"  which  would 
confine  the  college  to  Newport  or  its  vicinlt\';  it  would  seem  that  these 
copieswere  meantfor  circulation  in"  Rhode  Island"andnot  in"Prov- 
idence  Plantations."  The  Stiles  draft  says,  "in  such  place  within  this 
Colony  as  they  shall  think  con^•enient."  The  copy  in  the  John  Car- 
ter Brown  Library^  tries  to  please  both  sections  by  the  phrase,  "on 
Rhode  Island  or  within  the  colony."  This  copy  is  also  unique  in  ex- 
cluding the  Baptists  altogether  from  the  board  of  trustees;  but  this 
is  clearly  due  to  the  omission  of  a  line  by  the  copyist,  who  made  a 
similar  omission  in  the  passage  about  religious  fi-eedom,  resulting  in 
a  confused  jumble  of  two  separate  provisions. 

In  the  archives  is  an  unfinished  draft  of  a  charter  intended  for  pre- 
sentation at  the  session  of  the  legislature  in  October,  1763.  The  lan- 
guage is  in  the  main  that  of  the  Stiles  draft;  but  it  affirms  that  the  col- 
lege is  desired  by  persons  "  particularly  of  )'e.  Baptist  Denomination  " 
(although  this  phrase  is  marked  to  be  omitted),  and  provides  that 
eight  of  the  fellows  shall  be  Baptists,  two  Friends,  one  Congregation- 
alist,  and  one  Episcopalian,  Ezra  Stiles  being  named  as  the  Congrega- 
tionalist  fellow.  It  is  clearly  an  earl)'  (very  likel)'  the  first)  attempt 
of  the  Baptist  committee  to  reshape  the  Stiles  charter,  and  fonns  an 
interesting  link  between  tliat  and  the  charter  finalh-  secured. 

C   499   ] 


APPENDIX 


III 
THE  CHARTER  OF  1764 

There  are  two  manuscript  copies  of  the  charter  finally  granted,  in 
1764.  The  original  is  at  the  statehouse;  it  is  written  on  fourteen  pages, 
in  two  hands,  and  is  signed  by  the  clerk  of  the  lower  house  and  the 
secretar)^  of  the  upper  house  but  not  by  the  governor,  nor  is  the  col- 
ony's seal  attached.  The  other  cop}',  engrossed  on  a  parchment  of  four 
pages,  is  in  the  archives  of  the  universit)^;  it  differs  from  the  statehouse 
copy  in  capitalization,  punctuation,  etc.,  and  in  being  signed  by  the 
governor  and  having  the  seal  affixed.  The  copy  in  the  statehouse  is  as 
follows : 

At  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Governor 
and  Company  of  the  English  Colony  of  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence-Plantations  in  New 
England  in  America,  begini  and  held  at  East 
Greenwich  within  8c  for  said  Colony  by  ad- 
journment upon  the  last  Monday  of  Febr:, 
one  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  Sixty-four, 
and  in  the  foui-th  Year  of  the  Reign  of  His 
Most  Sacred  Majesty  George  the  Third,  by 
the  Grace  of  God,  King  of  Great  Britain,  and 
so  forth 

Whereas  Institutions  for  liberal  Education  are  highly  beneficial  to  Soci- 
ety, by  forming  the  rising  Generation  to  Virtue  Knowledge  Sc  useful  Lit- 
erature &  thus  preserving  in  the  Community  a  Succession  of  Men  duly 
qualify 'd  for  discharging  the  Offices  of  Life  with  usefulness  &  reputation 
they  have  therefore  justly  merited  Sc  received  the  attention  &  Encourage- 
ment of  every  wise  and  well  regulated  State,  and  whereas  a  Public  School 
or  Seminary  erected  for  that  purpose  within  this  Colony,  to  which  the 
Youth  may  freely  resort  for  Education  in  the  Vernacular  8c  Learned  Lan- 
guages 8c  in  the  liberal  Arts  8c  Sciences,  would  be  for  the  general  Advan- 
tage 8c  Honor  of  the  Government,  and  whereas 


Mr.  Gideon  Hoxsey 

Mr.  Thomas  Eyres 

Mr.  Thomas  Potter  Junr. 
Mr.  Peleg  Barker 
Mr.  Edwti.  Thurston 
Mr.  Wm  Redwood 

Joseph  Clarke  Esqr. 


Mr.  Ezekiel  Gardner 

Mr.  John  Waterman 

Mr.  James  Barker  Junr 
Mr.  John  Holmes 
Solomon  Drown  Esqr. 
Mr.  Saml  Windsor 

Mr.  Joseph  Sheldon 

C  500  ] 


Daniel  Jenckes  Esqr. 
Nicholas  Tillinghast  Esqr. 

Nicholas  Gardiner  Esqr. 
Col.  Josias  Lyndon 
Col.  Elisha  Reynolds 

Peleg  Thurston  Esqr 
Simon  Pease  Esqr. 


APPENDIX 


Mr.  John  G  Wanton 
Mr.  Thos.  Robinson 


Charles  Rhoiles  Esqre. 

Mr  Nicholas  Brown 
Col.  Barzilla  Richmond 
Mr  John  Brown 


John  Tillinghast  Esqr. 
George  Haszard  Esqr. 
Col  Job  Bennet 
Nicholas  Easton  Escjr. 
Arthur  Fenner  Esqr. 


with  many  other  Pei-soiis  appear  as  undertakers  in  the  valuable  desii^n, 
Sc  thereupon  a  Petition  has  been  prefei-'d  to  this  Assenil)ly  |)rayint^  that 
full  Liberty  and  Power  may  be  g'l-anted  unto'  such  of"  them  with  others' 
as  are  hereafter  mentioned  to  found  endow,  oixler  Sc  govern  a  Colle,q;e  or 
University  within  this  Colony  Sc  that  for  the  more  ett'ectual  execution  of 
this  design  they  may  be  incorpoi-ated  into  one  Body  Politic  to  be  known 
in  the  Law  with  the  powers  priviledges  8c  franchises  necessary  for  the 
purpose  aforesaid  — 

Now,  therefore  know  ye  that  being  willing  to  encourage  and  patronize 
such  an  honorable  and  useful  Institution,  we  the  said  CJovernor  Sc  Com- 
pany in  General  Assembly  convened  do  for  oui'selves  and  our  Successors 
in  and  by  virtue  of  the  Power  and  Authority  within  the  Jurisdiction  of 
this  Colony  to  us  by  the  Royal  Charter  granted  Sc  committed  enact  grant 
constitute  oi-dain  Sc  declare  Sc  it  is  hereby  enacted  granted  constituted  or- 
dained and  declared  that  the 


Revd.  James  Manning 
Revd.  Russel  Mason 
Colo.  Elisha  Reynolds 
Colo.  Josias  Lyndon 
Colo.  Job  Bennet 
Mr.  Ephraim  Bowen 
Joshua  Clarke  Esqre: 
Capt.  Jona  Slade 
John  Taylor  Esqre: 
Mr  :Robert  Strettell  Jones 
Azariah  Dunham  Esqre: 
Mr.  Edward  Thurston  Jr. 
Mr.  Thomas  Eyres 
Mr.  Thomas  Haszard 
Mr.  Peleg  Barker 


Joshua  Babcock  Esqre: 
Mr:  John  G  Wanton 
Revd:  Edward  Upham 
Revd:  Jeremiah  Condy 
Revd :  Marmaduke  Brown. 
Revd:  Gardner  Thurston. 
Revd:  Ezra  Stiles 
Revd:  John  Greaves 
Revd:  John  Maxson 
Revd:  Saml:  Winsor 
Revd :  John  Gano 
Revd:  Morgan  Edwards. 
Revd :  Isaac  Eaton 
Revd:  Saml:  Stillman 
Revd:  Saml:  Jones 


Hon'ble  Stephen  Hopkins  Esqre: 
H  on 'ble  Joseph  Wanton  JunrEsqr :' 


Hon'ble  Samuel  Ward  Esqre: 
Hon'ble  William  EUery  Esqr; 
"        John  Tillinghast  Esqre: 
"         Simon  Pease  Esqre: 
"         James  Honyman  Esqre: 
"        Nicholas  Easton  Esqre: 
"        NicholasTillinghast  Esqre: 
"        Darius  Sessions  Esqre: 
"        Joseph  Harris  Esqre: 
"         Francis  Willet  Esqre: 

Wm :  Logan  Esqr: 
"        Daniel  Jencks  Esqre: 
George  Hazard  Esqr. 
Nicholas  Brown  Esqr. 
"        Jeremiah  Niles  Esqre: 

or  such  or  so  many  of  them  as  shall  within  twelve  Months  from  the  date 
hereof,  accept  of  this  trust  and  qualify  themselves  as  herein  after  di- 
rected, and  their  Successors  shall  be  for  ever  hereafter  one  Body  Corpo- 
rate Sc  Politic  in  Fact  and  Name  to  be  known  in  Law  by  the  Name  of 
Trustees,  and  Fellows  of  the  College  or  Univei-sity  in  the  English  Colony 

'  The  next  two  words  are  an  interlineation. 
"  The  next  four  words  are  an  interlineation. 
"Hon'ble  John  Gardner  Esqre:  "  followed  but  was  crossed  out. 

[    .501     ] 


APPENDIX 

of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations  in  New  England  in  Amer- 
ica the  Trustees  and  Fellows  at  any  Time  hereafter  giving  such  more 
particular  Name  to  the  College  in  Honor  of  the  greatest  Sc  most  distin- 
guished Benefactor  or  otherwise  as  they  shall  think  proper  which  Name 
so  given  shall  in  all  Acts,  Instruments  and  Doings  of  said  Body  Politic 
be  superadded  to  their  corporate  Name  aforesaid,  and  become  a  part  of 
their  legal  Appellation,  by  which  it  shall  be  for  ever  known  and  distin- 
guished, and  that  by  the  same  Name,  they  and  their  Successors  chosen  by 
themselves  as  hereafter  prescribed  shall  and  may  have  perpetual  Succes- 
sion, and  shall  8c  may  be  Persons  able  and  capable  in  the  Law  to  Sue,  & 
to  be  Sued  to  Plead  and  to  be  impleaded  to  Answer,  and  to  be  Answered 
unto,  to  defend  and  to  be  defended  in  all  and  singular  Suits  Causes  Mat- 
ters Actions  and  Doings  of  what  kind  so  ever  Sc  also  to  have  take  possess 
purchase  acquire  or  otherwise  receive  Sc  hold  Lands  Tenements  Heredit- 
aments, Goods  Chatties  or  other  Estates  of  all  which  they  may  and  shall 
stand  and  be  seized  notwithstanding  any  Misnomer  of  the  College  or 
the  Corporation  hereof  and  by  what  ever  Name  or  however  imperfectly 
the  same  shall  be  described  in  Gift,  Bequests  and  Assignments  provided 
the  true  intent  of  the  Assigner  or  Benefactor  be  evident.  Also  the  same  to 
grant  demise  alien  lease  use  manage  and  improve  according  to  the  Tenor 
of  the  Donations,  and  to  the  Purposes  Trusts  Sc  Uses  to  which  they  shall 
be  seized  there  of  and  full  Liberty  Power  Sc  Authority  is  hereby  granted 
unto  the  said  Trustees  Sc  Fellows  and  their  Successor  to  found  a  College 
or  University  within  this  Colony  for  promoting  the  Liberal  Arts  and 
Univei'sal  Literature,  and  with  the  Monies  Estates  Sc  Revenues  of  which 
they  shall  from  time  to  time  become  legally  Seized  as  aforesaid  to  Endow 
the  same  and  erect  the  necessary  Buildings  Sc  Edifices  thereof  on  such 
Place  within  tliis  Colony  as  they  shall  think  Convenient :  And  Generally 
to  regulate  Order  Sc  Govern  the  same  Appoint  Officers  Sc  make  Laws  as 
herein  after  prescribed  Sc  hold  use  Sc  enjoy  all  the  Liberties  Priviliges 
exemptions,  Dignities  Sc  Immunities  enjoy'd  by  any  College  or  Univer- 
sity whatever,  And  furthermore  that  the  sd .  Trustees  Sc  fellows  Sc  their  Suc- 
cessor shall  and  may  forever  hereafter  have  a  public  Seal  to  use  for  all 
Causes  matters  Sc  aflfaii-s  whatever  of  them  and  their  Successors  and  the 
same  Seal  to  alter  Break  Sc  make  anew  from  time  to  time  at  their  Will 
and  Pleasure  which  Seal  shall  always  be  deposited  with  the  President 
or  Senior  fellow  and  furthermore  by  the  Authority  afforesaid  it  is  hereby 
enacted  Ordained  Sc  declared  that  it  is  now  and  at  all  Times  hereafter 
shall  continue  to  be  the  unalterable  Constitution  of  this  College  or  Uni- 
versity that  the  Corporation  thereof  shall  consist  of  two  Branches  Vizt :  that 
of  the  Trustees  Sc  that  of  the  fellowship  with  distinct  seperate  8c  respec- 
tive powei-s,  and  that  the  Number  of  the  Trustees  shall  and  may  be  thirty 
six'  of  which  twenty  two  shall  forever  be  Elected  of  the  Denomination 
called  Baptists  or  Antipedobaptis  Five  shall  for  ever  be  elected  of  the 

"  Five"  was  first  written  and  tlien  crossed  out. 

C  502  ] 


APPENDIX 


Denomination  called  Friends  or  Quakers,  four  shall  for  ever  be  elected  of 
the  Denomination  calUxl  Con,c;ref^ationalists,  8c  Five*  shall  for  ever  be 
elected  of  the  Denomination  called  Kj)iscopalians  8c  that  the  Succession  in 
this  Branch  shall  be  for  ever  chosen  8c  filled  u  j)  from  the  respective  Denom- 
inations in  this  proportion  and  accoixlint^  to  these  Nunihei-s  which  are 
hereby  fixt  8c  shall  remain  to  perpetuity  imutably  the  same  and  that  the 
said 


Revd.  Isaac  Eaton »  "  Francis  Willet  Esq.  Hon' 

Revd.  Saml.  Stillman  "  Daniel  Jencks  Esq.  Hon' 

Revd.  Russel  Mason 

Colo.  Elisha  Reynolds  Nicholas  Brown  Estjr.     Hon 

C9I0.  Josias  Lyndon  "  Teremiah  Niles  Esq.         Hon 

Colo.  Job  Bennet 

Mr.  Ephraim  Bowen 

John  Taylor  Esqre. 

Capt.  Jona.  Slade 

Mr.  Robert  Strettell  Jones 

Azariah  Dunham  Esqre. 

Mr. Edward  Thurston  Junr 

Mr.  Peleg  Barker 

or  such  or  so  many  of  them  as  shall  cjualify  themselves  as  aforesaid  shall 
be  and  they  are  hereby  declared  and  established  the  first  and  pi-esent 
Trustees. —  And  that  the  Number  of  the  Fellows  inclusive  of  the  Presi- 
dent who  shall  always  be  a  Fellow,  shall  and  may  be  Twelve  of  which 
eight  shall  be  for  ever  elected  of  the  Denomination  called  Baptists  or 
Antipaedobaptists,  and  the  rest  indifferently  of  any  or  all  Denominations 
and  that  the 


"  Francis  'Willet  Esq. 
"  Daniel  Jencks  Esq. 

George  Haszard  Esqr. 

Nicholas  Brown  Esqr 
"  Jeremiah  Niles  Esq. 

Mr.  John  G  Wanton 
"  Joshua  Clark  Esqr. 
"  Revd.  Gardner  Thurston 
"  Revd.  John  Greaves 
"  Revil.  John  Maxson 
"  Revd.  John  Gano 
"  Revd.  Saml.  'Winsor 


'ble  Stephen  Hopkins  Esqre. 
'ble  Joseph  Wanton  Jun  Esqr.' 

'ble  Samuel  Ward  Esqr 
ble  William  Ellery  Esqre 

John  Tillinghast  Esq. 

Simon  Pease  Esqre 

James  Honyman  Esqre. 

Nicholas  Easton  Esqre. 

Nicholas  Tillinghast  Esq. 

Darius  Sessions  Esqre. 

Joseph  Harris  Esq. 


Joshua  Babcock  Esq. 
Mr.  Thomas  Eyres 
Mr.  Thomas  Haszard 


Revd.  Ezra  Stiles 
Revd.  Saml:  Jones 
Revd.  James  Manning 
Wm.  Logan  Esqr. 


Revd.  Edward  Upham 
Revd.  Jeremiah  Condy 
Revd.  Marmaduke  Brown 
Revd.  Morgan  Edwards 


or  such  or  so  many  of  them  as  shall  qualify  themselves  as  aforesaid 
shall  be,  and  they  are  hereby  declared  the  first  and  present  Fellows  and 
Fellowship  to  whom  the  President  when  hereafter  elected  *  who  shall  for- 
ever be  of  the  Denomination  called  Baptist  or  Antepedo  Baptist  shall 
be  Joined  to  compleat  the  Number.  And  furthermore  it  is  declared  and 
ordained  that  the  Succession  in  both  Branches  shall  at  all  times  hereafter 
be  filled  up  and  supplied  according  to  these  Numbers  and  this  estab- 
lished and  invariable  Proportion  from  the  respective  Denominations  by 

^  "  Four"  was  first  written  and  then  crossed  out. 
'  Opposite  this  name  is  written,  "N.B  take  out  the  Titles." 
'  "Hon'ble  John  Gardner  Esqr."  followed  but  was  crossed  out. 
*  The  twelve  words  tliat  follow ,  through  "Antepedo  Baptist,"  are  an  inter- 
lineation. 

C  503  ] 


APPENDIX 

the  seperate  Election  of  both  Bi'anches  of  this  Corporation  which  shall 
at  all  Times  sett  and  Act  by  sepemte  and  distinct  Powere,  and  in  general 
in  order  to  the  validity  and  consummation  of  all  Acts  there  shall  be  in 
the  Exercise  of  their  respective  seperate  and  distinct  Povi^ers,  the  Joint 
concurrence  of  the  Trustees  and  the  Fellows  by  their  respective  Majori- 
ties except  in  adjudging  and  conferring  the  Academical  Degrees  which 
shall  for  ever  belong  exclusively  to  the  Fellowship  as  a  Learned  Faculty 
And  further  it  is  constituted  that  the  Instruction  and  immediate  Gov- 
ernment of  the  College  shall  for  ever  be  and  Rest  in  the  President  and 
Fellows  or  Fellowship  —  And  furthermore  it  is  ordained  that  there  shall 
be  a  General  Meeting  of  the  Corporation  on  the  first  Wednesday  of 
September  Annually  within  the  College  Edifice,  and  untill  the  same  be 
Built  at  such  Place  as  they  shall  appoint  to  consult  Advise  and  transact 
the  Affaire  of  the  College  or  Univereity  at  which  or  at  any  other  time  the 
Public  Commencement  may  be  held  and  Celebrated  and  that  on  any 
special  Emergencies  the  President  with  any  two  of  the  Fellows^  or  any 
Three  of  the  Fellows  exclusive  of  the  President  may  convoke  and  they 
are  hereby  impowered  to  convoke  an  Assembly  of  the  Corporation  on 
twenty  Days  Notice  and  that  in  all  Meetings  the  Major  Vote  of  those 
Present  of  the  two  Branches  respectively  shall  be  deemed  their  respec- 
tive Majorities  aforesaid,  provided  that  not  less  than  twelve  of  the  Trus- 
tees 8c  five  of  the  Fellows  be  a  Quorum  of  their  Respective  Branches — 
That  the  President  or  in  his  Absence  the  Senior  Fellow  present  shall  al- 
ways be  Moderator  of  the  Fellows,  that  the  Corporation  at  their  Annual 
Meetings  once  in  three  Yeare  or  oftner  in  Case  of  Death  or  Removal  shall 
and  may  chose  a  Chancellor  of  the  Univereity  and  Treasurer  from  among 
the  Trustees,  and  a  Secretary  from  among  the  Fellows,  that  the  Nomi- 
nation of  the  Chancellor  shall  be  in  the  Trustees  whose  Office  shall  be  only 
to  Preside  as  a  Moderator  of  the  Trustees  and  that  in  his  Absence  tlie 
Trustees  shall  choose  a  Moderator  for  the  time  being  by  the  Name  of  Vice 
Chancellor  and  at  any  of  their  Meetings  duly  formed  as  aforesaid  shall 
and  may  be  elected  a  Trustee  or  Fellow,  or  Trustees  or  Fellows  in  tlie 
Room  of  those  Nominated  in  this  Charter  who  may  refuse  to  accept  or 
in  the  Room  of  those  who  may  Die,  Resign  or  be  Removed — And  fur- 
thermore it  is  enacted  ordained  and  declared  that  this  Corporation  at 
any  of  their  Meetings  regularly  convened  as  aforesaid  shall  and  may  Elect 
and  appoint  the  President  aiid  Professors  of  Languages  and  the  several 
Parts  of  Literature,  and  upon  the  demise  of  him  or  them  or  eitlier  of 
them  their  Resignation  or  Removal  from  his  or  their  Office  for  Misde- 
meanor Incapacity  or  Unfaithfulness,  for  which  he  or  they  are  hereby 
declared  removeable  by  this  Corporation  others  to  Elect  and  Appoint  in 
their  Room  and  Stead,  &  at  such  meeting  upon  the  Nomination  of  the 
Fellows  to  Elect  and  Appoint  Tutore  Stewards  Butlers  and  all  such  other 
Officers  usually  appointed  in  Colleges  or  Univereities  as  they  shall  find 

'The  ten  words  that  follow,  tlirough  "  President,"  are  an  interlineation. 

[    504    ] 


APPENDIX 

necessary  and  think  fitt  to  appoint  for  the  promotinj^  Liboi-al  Exhiration 
and  tlie  well  ordering  the  Aflaii-s  of  this  Colleij;;e  and  them  or  any  of  them 
at  their  discretion  to  remove  and  substitute  othei-s  in  their  Placx>s,  and  in 
Case  any  President  Trustee  or  Fellow  shall  see  Cause  to  change  his  Reli- 
gious Denomination  tlie  Corporation  is  hereby  impoweretl  to  di^-lare  his 
or  tlieir  Place  or  Places  Vacant,  and  may  proceed  to  fill  up  it  or  them 
accordingly  as  before  diiTcted  otherwise  each  Trustee  and  Fellow  not  an 
Officer  of  Instruction  shall  continue  in  his  Office,  during  Life  or  untill 
Resignation  and  further  in  Case  either  of  the  Religious  denominations 
shou'd  decline  taking  a  Part  in  this  Catholic  Comprehensive  and  liberal 
Institution  the  Trustees  and  Fellows  shall  and  may  compleat  their  Number 
by  electing  from  their  Respective  Denominations  always  preserving  their 
Respective  Proportions,  herein  before  prescribed  and  detemiined,  and  all 
Elections  shall  be  by  Ballot,  or  written  Suffi-age,  and  that  a  Quorum  of  four 
Trustees  8c  three  Fellows  may  transact  any  Business  excepting  placing  the 
College  Edifice,  Election  of  Trustees,  President,  Fellows  and  Professors 
that  is  to  say  so  that  their  Acts  shall  be  of  Force  and  Validity  until  the 

next  Annual  Meeting  and  no  longer 

And  it  is  further  Enacted  and  Ordained  by  the  Authority  aforesaid  that 
each  Trustee  and  Fellow  as  well  those  Nominated  in  this  Charter  as  all 
that  shall  hereafter  be  duly  Elected  shall  previous  to  their  Acting  in  a  cor- 
porate Capacity  take  the  Engagment  of  Allegiance  prescribtxi  by  the  Law 
of  this  Colony  to  his  Majesty  King  George  the  third.  His  Heii-s  and  Right- 
ful Successors  to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  which  Engagement  shall  be 
Administered  to  the  present  Trustees  and  Fellows  by  the  (iovernor  or 
Deputy  Governor  of  this  Colony  and  to  tliem  from  time  to  time  hereafter 
Elected  by  their  Respective  Moderators  who  are  hereby  impowered  to 

Administer  the  same, 

And  still  the  more  clearly  to  define  and  Asscertain  the  Respective  Powei-s 
of  the  two  Branches  on  making  and  enacting  Laws,  it  is  further  Or- 
dained and  Declared  that  the  Fellowship,  shall  have  Power  and  are  hereby 
impowered  from  time  to  time  and  all  times  hereafter  to  make  Enact  and 
Publish  all  such  Laws  Statutes  Regulations  and  Ordinances  with  Penal- 
ties as  to  them  shall  seem  meet  for  the  successful  Instruction  and  (iov- 
emment  of  said  College  or  University  not  contrary  to  the  Spirit  Extent, 
true  Meaning  and  Intention  of  the  Acts  of  the  British  Parliament  or  the 
Laws  of  this  Colony,  and  the  same  Laws,  Statutes  and  Ordinances  to  Re- 
peal, which  Laws  and  the  Repeals  thereof,  shall  be  laid  before  the  Tnis- 
tees,  and  with  their  Approbation  shall  be  of  Force  and  \"alidity  but  not 
otherwise,  and  further  the  Trustees  and  Fellows  at  their  Meetings  afore- 
said shall  asscertain  the  Salaries  of  the  Respective  Officers  and  Oixler  the 
Monies  assessed  on  the  Students,  for  Tuition  Fines  and  Incidental  Ex- 
pences  to  be  collected  by  the  Steward  or  such  other  Officer  as  they  shall 
appoint  to  Collect  the  same,  and  the  same  with  their  Revenues  and  other 
College  Estates  in  the  Hands  of  the  Treasurer  to  appropriate,  in  dis- 
charging Salaries  and  other  College  Debts  and  the  College  Accounts  shall 

C  505  ] 


APPENDIX 

be  Annually  Audited  and  Adjusted  in  the  Meeting  of  the  Corporation 
and  furthermore  it  is  hereby  enacted  and  declared  that  into  this  Liberal 
£c  Catholic  Institution  shall  never  be  admitted  any  Religious  Tests  but 
on  the  Contrary  all  the  Members  hereof  shall  for  ever  enjoy  full  free 
Absolute  and  uninterrupted  Liberty  of  Conscience  and  that  the  Places 
of  Professors,  Tutors  and  all  other  Officers*  the  President  alone  excepted 
shall  be  free  and  open  for  all  denominations  of  Protestants  and  that 
Youths  of  all  Religious  Denominations  shall  and  may  be  freely  admitted 
to  the  Equal  Advantages  Emoluments  £c  Honore  of  the  College  or  Uni- 
versity and  shall  Receive  a  like  fair  generous  &  equal  Treatment,  during 
their  Residence  therein,  they  conducting  themselves  peaceably  and  con- 
forming to  the  Laws  and  Statutes  thereof:  And  that  the  Public  teaching 
shall  in  general  Respect  the  Sciences  and  that  the  Sectarian  differences 
of  opinions,  shall  not  make  any  Part  of  the  Public  and  Classical  Instruc- 
tion, altho'  all  Religious  Controversies  may  be  studied  freely  examined 
and  explained  by  the  President  Professors  and  Tutore  in  a  personal  sepe- 
rate  and  distinct  manner,  to  the  Youth  of  any  or  each  Denomination  and 
above  all  a  constant  Regard  be  paid  to  and  effectual  Care  taken  of  the  Mor- 
als of  the  College  and  furthermore  for  the  honour  £c  encouragement  of 
Literature  w^e  constitute  and  declare  the  fellowship  aforesaid  a  learned 
faculty  and  do  hereby  give  grant  unto  and  invest  them  8c  their  Succes- 
sor with  full  Power  &  Authority,  and  they  are  hereby  Authoriz'd  8c 
impowered  by  their  President  8c  in  his  Absence  by  the  Senior  Fellow 
or  one  of  the  Fellows  appointed  by  themselves  at  the  Anniversary  Com- 
mencements or  at  any  other  times  and  at  all  Times  hereafter  to  Admit 
to  8c  Conferr  any  8c  all  the  Learned  Degi'ees  which  can  or  ought  to  he  given 
and  conferred  in  any  of  the  Colleges  &  Umversities  in  Jlmerica^  or  any 
such  other  Degrees  of  Literary  Honor  as  they  shall  devise  upon  any  and 
all  such  Candidates  and  Pereons  as  the  President  and  Fellows  or  Fellow- 
ship shall  Judge  worthy  of  the  Academical  Honoi-s,  which  Power  of  con- 
ferring Degrees  is  hereby  restricted  to  the  Learned  Faculty,  who  shall  or 
may  Issue  Diplomas  or  Certificates  of  such  Degrees  or  conferr  Degrees  by 
Diplomas  and  Authenticate  them  with  the  Public  Seal  of  the  Corpora- 
tion, and  the  Hands  of  the  President  and  Secretary,  and  of  all  the  Pro- 
fessors as  Witnesses  and  deliver  them  to  the  Graduates  as  Honorable  and 
Perpetual  Testimonies,  and  furthemore  for  the  greater  Encouragement 
of  this  Seminary  of  Learning  and  that  the  same  may  be  amply  endow'd 
and  enfranchised  with  the  same  priveledges  Dignities  and  Immunities,  en- 
joy'd  by  the  American  Colleges  and  European  Univei-sities,  we  do  grant 
enact  Ordain  and  Declare  and  it  is  hereby  granted  Enacted  Ordained  and 
Declared  that  the  College  Estate,  the  Estates  Persons  and  Families  of  the 
President  and  Professors  for  the  Time  being  lying  and  being  within  the 

*The  next  four  words  are  an  interlineation. 

"^  "Europe  8c  particularly  in  the  LTniversity  in  Cambridge  &  Edinbourgh  in 

Great  Britain  "  followed  but  was  crossed  out. 

C   506  ^ 


APPENDIX 

Colony  Avith  the  Pei-sons  of  thr  Tutoi-s"  aiul  Students  dwriiiu^  their  Resi- 
dence at  the  CoUet^e  shall  ix'  freed  and  exempted  from  all  Taxes,  sei-ving 
on  Juries  and  Menial  Services,  and  that  the  Pei"so!is  aioi'i'said  shall  be  ex- 
empted from  bearing;  Arms  Impresses  and  Militai-y  Services  exci-pt  in 
Case  of  an  Invasion  And  furthermore  for  establishins^  the  perpetuity  of 
this  Corpoi-ation  and  in  case  that  at  any  time  hereaftei-  throus^h  oversight 
or  otherwise  through  misajjprehensions  and  mistaken  Constructions  of 
the  Powers  Liberties  and  Franchises  herein  contained  any  Laws  should 
be  enacted  or  any  mattei-s  done  and  transacted  by  this  Corporation  con- 
trary to  the  tenor  of  this  Charter  it  is  hereby  (>nacted  ordained  and  de- 
clared that  all  such  Laws  Acts  and  Doings  shall  be  in  themselves  null 
and  void :  yet  nevertheless  the  same  shall  not  in  any  Courts  of  Law  or 
by  the  Genrle.  Assembly  be  deemed  taken  interpreted  or  adjudged  into 
an  avoidance,  defeazance  or  forfeiture  of  this  Chai-ter  but  that  the  same 
shall  be  and  remain  unhurt  inviolate  and  entire  unto  the  said  Corporation 
in  perpetual  Succession,  which  Corporation  may  at  all  times  and  forever 
hereafter  proceed  &  continue  to  Act ;  and  all  their  Acts  conformable  to 
the  Powei-s,  tenor,  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  Charter  shall  be  and 
remain  in  full  force  and  validity,  the  nullity  and  avoidance  of  any  such 
illegal  Acts  to  the  Contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding — and  lastly.  We 
the  Governor  and  Company  aforesaid,  do  for  Oui-selves  and  our  Successors, 
forever  hereby  enact.  Grant  8c  confii-m  unto  the  said  Trustees  and  Fellows 
and  to  their  Successor  that  this  Charter  of  Incorporation  and  every  part 
thereof  shall  be  good  and  available  in  all  things  in  the  Law  according  to  our 
true  Intent  and  meaning,  and  shall  be  construed,  reputed  Sc  adjudged  in 
all  cases  most  favorably  on  the  behalf  and  for  the  best  benefit  and  behoof 
of  the  saidTrustees  and  Fellows  and  their  Successors  so  as  most  eifectually 

to  answer  the  valuable  Ends  of  this  usefull  Institution 

In  full  Testimony  of  which  Grant  and  of  all  the  Articles  and  Matters 
therein  contained,  the  said  Governor  8c  Company  do  hereby  order  that 
this  Act  shall  be  Signed  by  the  Governor  and  Secretary  and  Sealed  with 
the  publick  Seal  of  this  Colony  and  Registred  in  the  Colonys  Records  and 
that  the  same  or  an  exemplification  thereof  shall  be  a  sufficient  Warrant 
to  the  said  Corporation  to  hold,  use  and  exercise  all  the  Powers,  Franchises, 
and  Immunities  herein  contained 

March  2d  :   1  764  ^^  ^^e  House  of  Magsts 


Gent.  Resolvd  that  the  aforewritten  Pass  as  an  Act  of  this  Assembly 

Voted  8c  passd  Nemine  Contradicente 
Pr  Oixlr.  Josias  Lyndon  Cler 
In  the  Upper  House 
Read  (on  the  Third)  and  concurred  Nemine  Contradicente 

By  Oixl.  Henry  Ward  Secr'y 

*  "Graduates"  followed  but  was  crossed  out.  The  context  shows  that  it  re- 
ferred to  graduate  students  only . 

C  507  ] 


APPENDIX  B 
EARLY  LAWS  OF  THE  COLLEGE 

I 

THE  L.\WS 

OF  THE  COLLEGE  IN  PROVIDENCE  IN  THE  STATE  OF  RHODE  ISLAND, 

ENACTED    BY   THE   FELLOWSHIP   AND  APPROVED   BY  THE  TRUSTEES 

OF   SD.   COLLEGE 

[l^rom  the  Corporation  Records  of  1785] 

Chapter.  1st. 

Concerning  admission  — 

1 .  No  PERSON  may  expect  to  be  admitted  into  this  College,  unless,  upon 
examination  by  the  President  and  Tutoi-s,  he  shall  be  found  able  to  read 
accurately  construe  and  parse  Thlly  and  the  Greek  Testament,  and  Vir- 
gil ;  and  shall  be  able  to  write  true  Latin  in  prose,  and  hath  learned  the 
rules  of  Prosody  and  Vulgar  Arithmatic;  and  shall  bring  suitable  Tes- 
timony of  a  blameless  life  8c  conversation  — 

2.  No  PERSON  shall  be  admitted  under-Graduate  into  this  College  until 
his  father  or  Guardian  or  some  other  pei"son  of  property  shall  have  given 
to  the  Steward  a  sufficient  bond  for  the  payment  of  his  quarter  Bills,  ap- 
proved of  by  the  Authority  of  the  College  from  time  to  time,  so  long  as 
he  shall  continue  to  be  a  member  of  College,  which  bond  the  Steward 
shall  keep  until  the  said  Scholar  shall  have  taken  his  second  Degree, 
unless  it  should  be  given  up  sooner  by  the  order  of  the  President.  And 
the  Steward  is  obliged  to  produce  and  transmit  to  his  father  or  guai-dian, 
a  general  state  or  account  of  the  several  sums  or  dues  to  be  charged  in  the 
quarter  bill. — 

3.  No  student  shall  be  admitted  into  this  College  until  he  shall  have 
written  out  a  correct  copy  of  the  Laws  of  the  College,  or  have  otherwise 
obtained  them,  and  had  them  signed  by  the  President,  Sc  one,  or  more 
of  the  Tutors,  as  the  Evidence  of  his  admission,  which  copy  he  shall  keep 
by  him  during  his  residence  in  College — 

4.  Every  scholar,  thus  admitted,  whether  he  be  present  or  absent,  shall 
be  obliged  to  pay  all  College  dues,  except  for  victualling,  until  he  shall  be 
regularly  dismissed  ;  or  at  least,  until  he  shall,  by  the  advice  of  his  parents 
or  guaixlians,  if  under  age,  ask  a  dismission  of  the  President — 

5.  After  admission,  every  Student  shall  reside  in  the  College  Edefice, 
and  there  pursue  his  Studies,  lodge  8c  board  in  Commons,  except  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  town  and  its  vicinity,  who  are  permitted  to  victual  at 
home ;  also  such  indigent  Scholars  to  whom  the  Faculty  may  grant  any 
indulgence;  and  also  such  young  Gentlemen  as  the  President  may  think 
proper  to  receive  into  his  his  own  family  as  boarders — 

C   508   ] 


APPENDIX 

CHAPTEUt.  2d. 

Concerning  scholastic  exercises — 

1 .  The  hoiii"S  of  study  bctweii  the  fall  8c  sprinp;'  vacations  shall  hv  from 
morning  prayere  one  hour  before  breakfast,  and,  from  9  OClock  A.M. 
until  12  OClock; — from  2.0Clock  P.M.  until  sunset ;  and  from  7.  until 
9  0Clock  in  the  Evening;  — And  between  the  Spring  and  Fall  vacations, 
one  hour  after  morning  prayei-s;  from  8  OClock  A.M.  until  12  ;  from 
2  OClock  P.M  until  6.  OClok;  and  no  Student  shall  be  out  of  his  Cham- 
ber after  9  OClock  in  the  Evening 

2.  Both  before  and  afternoon,  and  after  9  OClock  in  the  Evening  the 
Tutoi-s  in  their  turns  shall  duly  visit  the  rooms  of  the  Students,  to  observe 
whether  they  be  within  and  pursuing  their  Studies;  and  shall  punish  all 
those  who  are  absent  without  liberty,  or  necessity  — 

3.  The  President  and  Tutoi-s,  accoi*ding  to  their  judments,  shall  teach 
and  instruct  the  several  Classes  in  the  learned  Languages  and  in  the  lib- 
eral Arts  and  Sciences,  togetlier  with  the  vernacular  Tongus  — 

The  following  are  the  clasics  appointed  for  the  first  year,  in  Latin,  Virgil, 
Cicero's  Oi-ations  and  Horace,  all  in  usum  Delphini.  In  Greek,  the  new 
Testament,  Lucians  Dialogues  8c  Zenophon's  Cyropaedia ;  — For  the  sec- 
ond year,  in  Latin,  Cicero  de  Oratore  8c  Caesare  Commentaries;  —  In 
Greek  Homer's  Iliad  8c  Longinus  on  the  Sublime,  together  with  Lowth's 
vernacular  Grammar,  Rhetoric,  Wards  Oratory,  Sheridan's  Lectures  on 
Elocution,  Guthrie's  Geography,  Kaims  Elements  of  Criticism,  Watts's 
and  Duncan's  Logic. — For  the  third  year,  Hutchinsons  moral  Philoso- 
phy, Dodridges  Lectures,  Fennings  Arithmatic,  Hammonds  Algebra, 
Stones  Euclid,  Martins  Trigonometry,  Loves  Surveying,  Wilsons  Navi- 
gation, Martins  Philosophia  Britannica,  8c  Ferguson's  Astronomy,  with 
Martin  on  the  Globes.  —  In  the  last  year  Locke  on  the  Undei-standing, 
Kennedy's  Chronology  and  Bollingbroke  on  History,  and  the  Languages, 
Arts  8c  Sciences,  studied  in  the  foregoing  years,  to  be  accurately  reveiwed. 

4.  During  the  two  firet  years,  such  Latin  Exercises  shall  be  exhibited 
as  shall  be  directed  by  their  respective  Teachers ;  and,  throughout  the  two 
last  years  w^eekly  disputations  shall  be  held  on  such  subjects  as  shall  be 
previously  assigned  them,  both  in  the  forensic  and  syllogistick  way,  as 
shall  be  judged  most  conducive  to  their  improvement  — 

5.  Two  of  the  Students,  in  rotation,  shall  every  Evening,  after  prayere, 
pronounce  a  piece  upon  the  Stage ;  and  all  the  membere  of  the  College 
shall  meet  every  Wednesday  afternoon  in  the  Hall,  at  the  ringing  of  the 
Bell  at  2  OClock,  to  pronounce  before  the  President  8cTutoi's,  pieces  well 
committed  to  memory,  that  they  may  receive  such  corrections  in  tlieir 
manner,  as  shall  be  judged  necessary  — 

6th.  On  the  last  Wednesday  in  every  month,  every  Student  in  College 
shall  pronounce  publikly  on  the  Stage,  memoriter,  such  an  Oration  or 
piece  as  shall  be  previously  approved  by  the  President,  on  which  occasion 
the  two  upper  classes  shall  make  use  of  their  own  compositions  — 

[    509    ] 


APPENDIX 

7.  No  student  may  read  any  book  in  the  hours  of  study,  excepting  the 
Classics,  or  such  as  tend  to  iHustrate  the  subject  matter  of  his  recitation, 
for  the  time  being — 

8.  No.  one  may  enter  anothere  Chamber  without  knocking  and  obtain- 
ing Uberty ;  nor  shall  he  even  do  this  in  study  houi-s,  except  to  do  an 
errand,  in  which  he  shall  be  speedy — 

9.  Each  student  shall  be  duly  prepared  for,  and  duly  attend  on  recita- 
tions, at  such  times  and  places  as  their  Instructors  shall  appoint,  during 
which  no  one  shall  suggest  any  thing  to  his  Class-Mates,  or  by  any  means 
interrupt  their  Attention  — 

10.  It  is  not  permitted  any  one,  in  the  hours  of  study  to  speak  to 
another,  except  in  Latin,  either  in  the  College,  or  College  Yard  — 

1 1 .  The  Senior  Class  shall  attend  recitations,  and  other  public  exer- 
cises, until  the  second  Wednesday  in  July,  on  which  they  shall  appear  in 
the  Hall  to  be  examined  by  the  President,  Fellows,  Tutoi's,  or  any  other 
Gentlemen  of  liberal  Education,  touching  their  knowledge  and  profi- 
ciency in  the  learned  Languages,  the  liberal  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  other 
qualifications  recjuisite  for  the  Degree  of  Bachellor  in  the  Arts  ;  and  upon 
approbation  they  shall  not  leave  the  College  before  they  have  compleated 
their  necessary  preparations  for  the  public  Commencement ;  nor  then  with- 
out the  Liberty  of  the  President — 

1 2 .  On  the  last  Wednesday  in  every  ciuarter  there  shall  be  a  public 
examination  of  the  three  lower  classes  on  the  studies  they  shall  have  pursued 
during  that  quarter ;  and  if  it  shall  appear  that  any  one  has  neglected 
his  business,  so  as  not  to  have  made  such  proficiency  in  them  as  his  oppor- 
tunity and  abilities  would  admit  of,  the  President  and  Tutors  may  put  him 
upon  a  conditional  standing  with  his  Class,  which  shall  continue  to  the 
end  of  the  Year  (unless  by  his  better  conduct  he  shall  merit  an  exemption 
therefrom  at  a  future  examination)  and  then  if  there  appear  no  hopeful 
signs  of  reformation,  they  may  degrade  him  to  a  lower  class  — 

Chapter  3d. 

Concerning  a  religions^  moral  &  decent  conduct — 

1 .  On  ringing  of  the  Bell  for  morning  and  evening  prayers,  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  College  shall  immediately,  without  unnecessary  noise  repair 
to  the  hall,  and  behave  with  decency,  during  the  time  of  the  exercises  — 

2.  The  senior  class,  when  required,  shall  read  a  chapter  out  of  the 
Greek  Testament  into  english  before  morning  prayers,  the  President  or 
Tutors  calling  on  whom  they  think  proper  of  the  class  to  perform  this 
duty  — 

3.  Every  student  shall  attend  public  worship  every  fii'st  day  of  the  week, 
where  he,  his  parents  or  Guardians  shall  think  proper;  provided  that  any 
who  do  not  attend  with  any  officer  of  instruction,  produce  vouchers,  when 
demanded,  of  his  steady  and  orderly  attendance  — 

N.B.  Such  as  regularly  and  statedly  observe  the  seventh  day  as  a 

C  510  ] 


APPENDIX 

Sabbath,  are  exempted  from  this  Law;  and  are  only  recjuired  to  al)stain 
from  secular  employments,  which  would  interrupt  their  lellow  Students  — 

4.  Wnt^'  any  student  attends  public  woi-ship  at  any  religious  Society 
whatever,  he  shall  behave  with  suitable  gravity  and  decency  — 

5  No  student,  boaixling  in  commons,  is  permitted  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week  to  go  out  of  the  College  Yard,  unless  to  public  woi-ship;  nor 
those  who  boaixl  in  Town  except  to  public  woi-ship  and  to  meals ;  but  the 
whole  of  the  day  is  to  be  observed  by  abstaining  from  all  secular  concerns, 
recreation  and  diversion. — 

6.  Agree.\blv  to  the  Charter  of  this  College,  which  enacts  that  Chris- 
tians of  every  denomination,  shall,  without  the  least  molestation,  in  the 
peculiarities  of  their  religious  principles,  enjoy  free  Liberty,  &c. 

It  is  oixiered  that  if  any  Student  of  this  College  shall  deny  the  being 
of  a  God,  the  existence  of  \^irtue  8c  Vice;  or  that  the  books  of  the  old 
and  New  Testament  are  of  divine  authority,  or  suggest  any  scruples  of 
that  nature,  or  circulate  books  oi'  such  pernicious  tendency;  or  fretjuent 
the  company  of  those  who  are  known  to  favour  such  fatal  erroi-s ;  or  hai-- 
rass  and  disquiet  the  minds  of  his  fellow  Students,  respecting  any  of  the 
peculiarities  of  their  christian  I'aith,  by  ridicule,  sneei*s,  scoffing.  Infidel 
Suggestions,  or  in  any  other  way;  and  shall  continue  obstinate  therein  after 
the  first  &  second  admonition,  he  shall  be  expelled  from  the  College  — 

Young  Gentlemen  of  the  Hebrew  Nation  are  to  be  exempted  from  this 
Law,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  New  Testament  and  its  authenticity  — 

7  If  any  scholar  shall  be  guilty  of  Blasphemy,  Robbery,  fornication. 
Forgery,  or  any  such  attrocious  crime  he  shall  be  forthwith  expelled  — 

8.  Every  scholar  is  strictly  forbidden  to  play  at  cards,  or  any  unlaw- 
ful Games ;  — to  swear,  lye,  steal,  get  drunk,  or  use  obscene  or  idle  woixls, 
strike  his  fellow  Students  or  others ;  or  keep  company  with  pei-sons  of 
a  knowTi  bad  Character;  or  attend  at  places  of  idle  or  vain  Sports  — 

9.  The  conduct  of  the  students  with  respect  to  morality  and  good 
manners,  in  the  times  of  Vacation,  shall  be  cognizable  equally  as  when 
present  at  the  College  — 

10.  Every  scholar  is  recjuired  to  shew  all  due  honour  8c  reverence, 
both  in  words  8c  behaviour,  to  all  his  superioi-s,  viz,  to  Parents,  Magis- 
trates, Ministers;  and,  especially  to  the  Trustees,  Fellows,  President  Sc 
Tutors  of  this  College ;  nor  shall  in  any  case  use  any  reproachful,  reviling, 
disrespectful  or  contumacious  language ;  but  shall  show  them  all  proper 
tokens  of  reverence  and  obedience  — 

1 1 .  No  student,  excepting  those  who  statedly  attend  the  Friends  Meet- 
ing, is  permitted  to  wear  his  hat  within  the  College  walls;  nor  when 
speaking  to,  or  spoken  to  by,  or  is  in  company  with  an  officer  of  instruc- 
tion, unless  he  be  permitted  by  them  to  put  it  on  — 

12.  All  due  respect  shall  be  paid,  by  inferioi-s,  to  those  of  a  superior 
standing,  by  giving  them  the  precedence  and  choice  of  seats  — 

13.  Every  student  is  required  to  treat  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  and 
all  othere  with  whom  they  converse  with  civility  and  good  mannere  — 

C   511    ] 


APPENDIX 

14,  No  student  shall  refuse  to  open  the  door  when  he  shall  hear  the 
stamp  of  the  foot  or  staff  at  his  door  in  the  entry,  which  shall  be  a  token 
that  an  officer  of  instruction  desires  admission,  which  token  every  student 
is  forbid  to  counterfiet,  or  imitate  under  any  pretence  whatever  — 

1  5 .  No  one  is  permitted  to  make  any  stay  in  any  room  or  meddle  with 
any  thing  in  it  belonging  to  the  occupant  in  his  absence  — 

1  6 .  No  one  is  pemiitted  to  make  a  practice  of  receiving  company  in 
his  room  in  study  hours ;  or  keep  spirituous  Liquors  in  his  room  with- 
out liberty  obtained  of  the  President  — 

1 7.  No  student  may  at  any  time  make  any  unnecessary  noise  or  tu- 
mult either  in  his  room  or  in  the  Entries ;  but  each  one  shall  endeavour 
to  preserve  tranquility  and  decency  in  woixis  h  actions  — 

1 8 .  No  one  when  in  anothere  room  shall  meddle  with  or  examine  his 
books  and  writings  — 

1 9 .  No  one  is  permitted  to  be  absent  from  collegiate  exercises  without 
first  rendering  his  excuse  to  his  instructor,  or  go  out  of  the  College  yard, 
in  the  time  of  study  without  Liberty  — 

20.  If  any  student  shall  do  damage  to  the  College  edefice,  or  the 
Goods  of  others,  he  shall  repair  the  same ;  nor  shall  any  attempt  to  throw 
anything  over  or  against  the  College 

2 1 .  No  student  is  permitted  to  make  use  of  any  boards,  timber,  or 
any  other  materials,  belonging  to  the  College  Edefice,  for  any  purpose 
whatever,  without  firet  obtaining  Liberty  of  the  Committee  for  the  finish- 
ing, or  repairs  of  the  Edefice  — 

22.  Every  student  in  College  shall  take  a  particular  care  of  fire,  not 
carrying  it  needlessly  out  of  his  room  in  pipes  or  otherwise ;  and  shall 
carefully  cover  or  quench  his  fire  when  retireing  to  bed  or  leaving  his 
room. 

23.  The  chimney  of  every  inhabited  room  shall  be  swept  at  the  expence 
of  the  occupants,  once  every  year — 

24.  The  senior  Class  are  authorized  to  detain  in  the  Hall,  after  even- 
ing prayers,  such  of  the  under  classes  as  they  shall  observe  violating  any 
of  the  Laws  of  College,  and  there  admonish  them  for  such  offences;  as 
well  as  to  correct  and  instruct  them  in  their  general  Deportment ;  cor- 
recting their  mannei-s  in  such  minute  particulars  of  a  geenteel  carriage 
and  good  breeding  as  does  not  come  within  any  express  written  Law  of 
the  College,  which  corrections,  Ecc.  are  to  be  strictly  observed 

Chapter.  4. 

Concerning  the  Library  — 

1 .  The  oldest  Tutor,  in  case  of  no  other  Appointment,  shall  be  the  Libra- 
rian, who  shall  open  the  Library  once  a  week,  at  an  hour  appointed  and 
attend  and  deliver  out  such  books  as  shall  be  called  for  by  such  of  the 
students  as  are  permitted  the  use  of  them  — 

[    512    ] 


APPENDIX 

2.  Ai.i,  students,  except  the  nienibci-s  ol"  tlic  freshman  (Mass  sliall  he 
permitted  the  use  ol"  tlie  Library  — 

3.  The  following  conditions  of  taking  out  hooks  shall  he  strictly  ic- 
garded ;  — Each  one  shall  sign  a  receijit  ibi-  every  hook  he  shall  take  out, 
engaging  to  return  it  in  tlie  like  good  oixler  with  in  the  time  he  is  per- 
mitted tlie  use  of  it,  which  shall  be  four  weeks  i'or  a  Folio  ;  three  weeks  for 
a  Quarto;  two  weeks  for  ati  Octavo;  Sc  one  week  for  a  Duodecimo. — 

4.  In  case  any  book,  so  taken  out,  shall  be  lost,  or  unnecessarily  dam- 
aged, the  deliiKjuent  sliall  replace  it  by  a  new  one,  within  thr-ee  months, 
or  pay  the  Librarian  double  the  price  \\'hich  it  cost,  the  Librarian  l)eing 
tlie  judge,  in  the  Case  — 

5  No  student  shall  lend  a  book  which  he  has  taken  out  unto  another; 
nor  take  out  more  than  one  book  at  a  time,  except  Duodecimos,  oi' wliich 
he  may  take  two.  — 

6.  Every  new,  or  neatly  bound  book,  shall  be  covered,  so  as  to  defend 
the  binding  from  injury,  during  the  time  of  using  it  — 

7.  No  pereon  shall  be  allowed  to  take  any  book  out  of  the  Library  witli 
out  the  knowledge  of  the  Librarian,  and  the  Librarian  shall  enter,  iti  the 
receipt  the  title  and  size  of  the  book  taken  out,  Sc  the  time  when  taken  k 
returned.  — 

8.  For  every  book  not  returned,  agreeably  to  his  receipt,  the  delin- 
quent shall  pay  for  one  month,  for  a  Folio,  one  Shilling,  and  so  in  propor- 
tion for  a  longer  or  shorter  time ;  — Two  thirds  as  much  for  a  Quarto  ;  — 
half  as  much  for  an  Octavo,  and  one  quarter  the  sum  for  a  Duodecimo  — 

Chapter  5th. 

Concerning  the  rooms  in  College 

1 .  The  senior  class  shall  always  have  the  choice  of  rooms ;  — The  junior 
next,  &  the  Sophimore  next,  except  where  a  student  of  the  lower  Classes 
shall  have  been  at  the  expence  of  painting  £c  papering  a  room ;  or  shall 
offer  to  do  so,  in  that  case  such  scholar  shall  have  the  preference;  and  be 
not  only  permitted  to  reside  in  it  during  his  stay  at  College  ;  but  on  leav- 
ing the  same,  shall  have  the  Liberty  of  disposing  of  his  property  therin 
to  any  member  of  the  senior  or  junior  classes,  who  shall  therein'  become 
possessed  of  the  same  right  — 

2.  If  any  scholar  shall  be  absent  from  College  beyond  the  time  allowed 
him;  or  shall  be  guilty  of  any  great  misdemeanour,  the  President  at  dis- 
cretion may  take  away  the  chamber  assgned  him,  and  may  dispose  of  it  to 
another  — 

3.  When  a  Chamber  shall  be  assigned  to  a  student  he  shall  immedi- 
ately certify  the  Steward  of  all  the  Damages  already  done,  who  shall  entei- 
the  same  in  a  Book  and  carry  it  to  the  President,  in  oi-der  that  he  who 
lived  last  therin,  or  did  the  damages,  may  be  obliged  to  make  restitution. 
And  during  the  time  that  any  room  shall  stand  assigned  to  any  one,  he 
(w'hether  present  or  absent)  shall  be  accountable  for  all  the  damages  done 

C   513   ] 


APPENDIX 

therin,  unless  he  shall  prove  that  it  was  done  in  such  a  manner,  as  im- 
plies no  carelessness  of  his  own  — 

4.  Whe^n  any  Glass  shall  be  broken  in  the  hall,  Entry,  in  any  public 
room,  or  in  any  room  not  inhabited,  the  expence  of  mending  the  same 
shall  he  born  equally  by  all  the  Scholar. — 

5.  No  student  when  permitted  to  be  absent  from  College ;  or  when  he 
leaves  the  same,  shall  carry  away  the  Keys  of  his  doore ;  but  shall  fasten 
a  piece  of  wood  to  each  key,  with  his  name,  and  the  number  of  his  door 
theron,  and  deposit  it  in  the  hands  of  the  President  or  Steward. 

Chapter.  6th. 

Concerning  the  Steward  and  Commons 

1 .  The  Steward  shall  cause  all  the  rooms,  inhabited  by  the  Students,  who 
board  in  commons,  together  with  the  Entries,  to  be  swept  once  pr  day; 
and  cause  all  the  beds,  in  said  rooms,  to  be  decently  made  every  fore- 
noon — 

2.  The  Steward  shall  furnish  three  good  meals  of  victuals  pr:  day, 
sufficient  for  those  who  board  in  Commons,  agreeably,  or  nearly  so,  to 
the  following  prescriptions  — 

For  Dinners  every  week,  two  meals  of  salt  Beef  &  Pork,  with  Peas, 
Beans,  Greens,  Roots,  See.  —  For  drink  good  small  Beer  or  Cyder. — Two 
meals  of  fresh  meat  roasted,  baked,  broiled  or  fried  with  proper  Sauce 
or  Vegetables. — One  meal  of  Soup  8c  Fragments. — One  meal  of  boiled 
fresh  meat,  with  proper  vegetables  8c  broth.  —  One  meal  of  salt  or  fresh 
Fish,  with  brown  bread  for  dinner. — 

For  Breakfast^  Tea,  Coffee,  Chocolate,  or  milk ;  with  Tea  or  Coffee 
white  Bread,  with  Butter;  with  Chocolate  or  Milk,  white  Bread  without 
Butter.  With  Tea  Coffee,  Chocolate,  brown  Sugar  — 

For  Supper,  milk  with  hasty  Pudding,  Rice,  Samp,  with  bread,  8cc.  or 
Milk,  Tea,  Coffee,  Chocolate,  as  for  Breakfast  — 

3.  The  several  Articles  and  provisions  abovementioned,  especially 
dinnere,  are  to  be  divereified  Sc  changed,  as  to  their  Succession  through- 
out the  week,  as  much  as  may  be  convenient  8c  agreeable  — 

4.  All  the  articles  of  Provision  shall  be  good,  genuine  and  unadul- 
terated — 

5.  The  meals  shall  be  appointed  at  stated  times;  and,  the  Cookery 
well,  neatly,  and  decently  executed  — 

6.  The  Steward  shall  sit  at  meals  with  the  Students,  unless  prevented 
by  company  or  Business,  and  exercise  the  same  authority  as  is  customary 
or  needful  for  the  head  of  a  family  at  his  Table — - 

7.  The  Steward  shall  be  exemplary  in  his  moral  Conduct,  and  not  fail 
to  give  Information  to  the  Authority  of  College  against  any  of  the  Stu- 
dents who  shall  transgress  any  of  the  College  ordere  and  regulations ;  and 
for  this  purpose  he,  as  well  as  every  other  Officer  of  College,  shall  con- 
stantly keep  by  him  a  copy  of  the  College  Laws  — 

[   514  ] 


APPENDIX 

8.  The  Students  who  l)oard  in  Commons,  shall  observe  oixicr  in  i^oinii^ 
into  Sc  comin.q;  out  of  tho  dinini^  room,  as  of  the  I  lall ;  and  at  Table  each 
Class  shall  sit  tot^ether  in  alphabetical  order,  and  while  there,  shall  in-- 
have  decently,  making;  no  unnecessary  noise  or  disturbance,  by  either 
abusing  the  Table  Furniture,  or  unii^enerously  coniplainint>-  of  the  Provi- 
sions, &c.  Notwithstanding'  which,  should  any  be  dissatisfied,  they  may 
mention  it  decently  to  theStewaixl  in  i)rivate,  and,  if  he  doi's  not  ix-dress 
any  supposed  jjrievances,  they  may  then  apply  to  the  President  — 

9.  Those  who  neg-lect  to  attend  at  the  stated  Mealtimes,  shall  forfeit 
such  meals,  unless  sufiicient  reasons  of  absence  appear  to  the  Steward,  who 
shall  be  jud,q-e  in  that  case  — 

10.  No  allowance  shall  be  made  to  any  Student  for  absence  from  Com- 
mons for  any  Term  under  a  week  — 

1 1 .  Whoever  shall  stay  beyond  the  limitted  term  of  Vacation,  or  the 
expiration  of  the  tci*m  for  which  he  had  liberty  to  be  absent,  shall  i>ay 
his  commons  Bill  to  the  Stewai-d,  in  the  same  maimer  as  thoui^h  pirsent, 
unless  he  shall  bring  a  certificate  from  some  reputable  Phvsician,  that 
his  state  of  health  would  not  permit  him  to  prosecute  his  Studies ;  oi- 
shall  assign  such  just  reasons  of  his  detention  as  shall  be  deemed  suffi- 
cient by,  at  least,  three  of  the  Fellowship  8c  four  of  the  Trustees  — 

1 2  The  scholai-s  shall  all  treat  the  Stewaixl  as  an  officer  of  College,  k 
his  family  with  all  due  respect  — 

13.  No  scholar  shall  be  permitted  to  rise  to  a  higher  standing,  or  be 
admitted  to  the  Honoui-s  of  the  College,  who  shall  have  neglected  to  f)ay 
the  Bills  against  him,  to  the  Satisfaction  of  tlie  Stewaixi. 

The  Steward  shall  be  permitted  to  sell  to  the  Students,  in  the  times 
allowed  for  Recreation,  Cyder,  Strong  Beer,  Small  Beer,  Candles,  Bi-ead, 
Butter,  Sugar,  Milk,  Tea,  Cheese,  Coffee,  Chocolate  8c  Apples;  and  any 
other  necessaries  which  the  Students  are  allowed  the  use  of  in  the  Houi"s 
of  play,  —  provided  he  has  the  Permission  of  their  Parents  or  Ciuaixlians 
for  so  doing;  and  that  tliey  be  sold  at  a  reasonable  profit,  and  not  in  such 
quantities  as  may  lead  them  to  neglect  their  Studies.  — • 

14.  As  as  a  Compensation  to  the  Stewaixl,  it  is  agreed  that  he  be  al- 
lowed the  use  of  three  rooms  on  the  lower  Floor,  and  one,  in  an  upper 
Story  rent  free ;  and  while  the  whole  of  the  rooms  are  not  occupied  by  the 
Students,  more  if  he  needs  them,  he  paying  tlie  rent,  which  shall  be  eight 
Dollars  pr:  year  for  each  Room.  He  shall  also  have  the  use  of  both  the 
Cellar-Kitchens,  together  with  sufficient  room  in  the  cellar,  live  from 
Rent.  He  shall  be  permitted  the  use  of  the  Garden  at  the  South  west  part 
of  the  College  Lot,  and  the  Stable  at  the  South  East  part  of  it  — 

15.  Every  student  shall  pay  for  his  board  in  Commons,  making  his 
Bed  k.  sweeping  his  room,  pr:  week  such  Sum,  or  sums  as  the  Corpo- 
ration shall  from  time  to  time  direct  the  Steward  to  take ;  also,  each  scholar 
shall  pay  to  the  Stewaixl  four  Dollai-s  pr :  Quarter  Tuition  Monev  — 

1 6.  Each  student  shall  pay  6  /  pr :  Quarter  Room  rent,  for  the  use  of 
one  half  a  Chamber  — 

C   515   ] 


APPENDIX 

1 7.  The  Stewaixl  at  the  close  of  each  quarter,  shall  make  out  a  rejjular 
bill,  containing  the  sevei-al  quarterly  Sums,  payable  by  each  Student, 
with  a  duplicate  thereof;  in  which  shall  be  charged  Fines,  the  Sums  for 
broken  Glass  Sc  all  other  Damages ;  and  shall  show  both  these  Bills  to  the 
President,  which,  being  by  him  approved,  and  one  of  the  Tutoi-s,  shall 
be  signed  by  the  President ;  one  of  which  the  President  shall  deliver  to 
the  Stewai-d,  and  keep  the  other  himself,  together  with  a  Bond  signed 
by  the  Stewai-d,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  other  Bill ;  and  engag- 
ing himself  to  l)e  accountable  to  the  President  &  Faculty,  for  the  whole 
Sum  contained  therein ;  And  the  Steward  shall  collect  all  the  money  con- 
tained in  the  quarter  Bills,  and  pay  out  the  whole  Sum  (except  for  Com- 
mons &  the  Butlei-s  Bill,  according  to  orders  given  by  the  President  and 
Faculty  — 

Chapter.  7. 

Of  monitors  &  the  duties  of  the  Freshman  Class — 

1.  A  weekly  bill  shall  be  kept  in  rotation,  beginning  and  preceding 
alphabeticaliy,  by  all  except  the  senior  Class,  in  which  shall  be  noted, 
nonattendance  at  prayers,  unbecoming  conduct  when  there,  or  any 
breach  of  the  Laws  of  the  College,  of  which  the  monitor  shall  take  strict 
notice — 

2.  There  shall  be  a  quarterly  monitor  appointed,  who  shall  take  the 
weekly  bills,  after  they  are  examined ;  8c  shall  take  a  particular  account 
of  all  the  transgressions  which  shall  not  be  excused,  &  of  all  tlie  fines 
which  shall  be  imposed  ;  which  bill  shall  be  produced  at  the  quarterly  ex- 
amination before  the  gentlemen  who  may  attend  the  same  as  matter  of 
conviction  of  those  who  shall  be  tardy  or  deficient ;  he  shall  also  collect 
the  money  for  fines  h.  deliver  it  to  the  Steward  ;  of  which,  if  not  paid,  he 
shall,  at  the  end  of  his  quarter,  put  the  Accompt  into  the  hands  of  the 
Steward  — 

3  All  the  money  ariseing  from  fines,  shall  be  converted  into  Premi- 
ums, to  be  awarded  to  those  who  shall  excel  at  the  public  examinations, 
always  observing  that  the  Premiums  of  each  Class  shall  be  made  up  of  the 
fines  of  that  Class  — 

4.  In  order  to  perpetuate  the  infamy  of  the  transgressions  of  the  Laws, 
all  the  punishments,  excepting  pecuniory,  publickly  inflicted  on  any  de- 
linquent, shall  be  registered  in  a  book  for  that  purpose,  together  with 
an  account  of  the  crime  for  which  it  was  inflicted ;  and,  every  Student 
who  shall  be  recorded  therin,  as  a  transgressor,  shall  be  excluded  from 
being  chosen  by  the  President,  or  his  Class,  to  any  of  the  orations  at 
Commencement :  however,  in  consequence  of  extraordinary  &  continued 
reformation,  the  Authority  may  erase  such  cencures  before  the  time  of 
choosing  Orators — 

5.  The  Freshman  Class  shall,  in  rotation,  ring  the  bell  (beginning, 
and   proceeding  through  the   Class,  in  alphabetical  order)    at  all  the 

C   516  ] 


APPENDIX 

seasons  of  ringing'  it,  except  for  nu'uls,  Sc  the  reeitiuion  of  the  upper 
Classes  — 

6.  In  the  same  oixler  the  Freshman  Class  shall  kindle  a  fire  seasonably 
before  morning  prayei-s  in  the  room  where  they  may  be  attended,  dur- 
ing tlie  winter  season  — 

Chapter  :  8th  : 

Of  Commencements^  Degres  and  Vacations — 

1 .  All  scholai-s  who  have  been  regularly  admitted  into  College,  and  have 
diligently  attended  their  Studies,  Sc  performed  the  duties  prescribed  them 
in  tJie  Laws,  and  made  good  proficiency  in  the  several  bi-anches  of  Learn- 
ing pureued  in  this  College ;  and  after  they  have  given  proof  of  this  at 
the  public  examination,  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  July,  may  expect 
to  be  honoured  with  the  Degree  of  Bachelor  in  the  Arts. — 

2.  All  such  as  shall  have  applied  themselves  to  their  Studies,  or  any 
honourable  profession  in  Life  ibr  the  space  of  three  yeai-s  from  the  time 
of  their  taking  their  first  Degree,  and  have  been  guilty  of  no  gross  crime, 
may  expect  to  receiAe  the  honour  of  a  second  degree,  provided  they  apply 
for  it  one  week  before  Commencement  — 

3.  Every  Candidate  shall  pay  the  President  four  Dollai-s  for  every  de- 
gree conferred  on  him  — 

4.  No  Scholar  shall  have  his  Degree  unless  the  Steward  on  the  morn- 
ing of  Commencement,  or  before,  shall  certify  the  President  that  he  has 
paid  all  his  College  dues.  This  Law  is  to  be  read  publickly  in  in  the  hall 
in  the  beginning  of  the  Month  of  July,  and  on  monday  before  the  public 
Commencement  — 

5.  No  student  shall  presume  to  exhibit  anything  at  the  ])ublic  Com- 
mencement, which  has  not  been  previously  approved  by  the  President  — 

6.  The  times  of  Vacation  shall  be  from  Septr :  6th:  to  October  20th  ; 
—  From  December  24th:  to  January  10th; — and  from  April  21st:  to 
June  1  St :  — 

7.  No  scholar  shall  presume  to  leave  College  at  the  time  of  Vacation, 
before  the  Vacation  be  publicly  notified  in  the  Hall ;  nor  at  any  other  time 
leave  the  College,  without  previously  obtaining  Liberty  from  the  Presi- 
dent— 

Chapter.  9th. 

Concerning  the  Authority  of  College  — 

1 .  The  legislative  Authority  of  this  College  is,  by  the  Charter,  vested  in 
the  President  Sc  Fellowship,  who  have  Authority  to  make  8c  give  Sanction 
to  all  such  Statutes,  Laws,  Rules  8c  Ordei-s  (not  repugnant  to  the  Laws 
of  this  Government)  which  they  shall  think  proper  for  the  well  ordering 
the  College,  which  shall  also  be  approved  by  the  Trustees  of  the  College  — 
2.  The  executive  Authority  is  vested  principallv  in  the  President,  who, 

C   517   ] 


APPENDIX 

in  concurrence  with  the  advice  of  the  Professors  &  Tutors  hath  power  to 
rule  govern  8c  direct  the  College,  and  all  matters  relating  thereto  — 

3.  The  penalties  annexed  to  the  foregoing  Laws,  where  not  expressed, 
shall  be  proportioned  to  the  Nature,  circumstances,  Ec  Agravations,  at- 
tending the  several  offences  —  After  private  admonition,  pecuniary  Pen- 
alties shall  be  from  two  Pence  Lawful  money,  to  three  Shillings.  The 
highest,  8c  last,  excepting  absence  from  College,  shall  be  six  Shillings 
or  a  Dollar;  —  after  which  they  shall  be  publicly  admonished  before  the 
College  8c  Corporation,  which  proving  ineffectual,  the  offendere  shall  be 
rusticated,  or  suspended  from  all  connection  with  the  College ;  after  which 
degraded  if  judged  necessary; — for  the  last  8c  concluding  punishment, 
they  shall  be  totally  8c  forever  expelled  from  the  College  — 

4.  And  whereas  the  Statutes  are  few  8c  general,  there  must  necessarily 
be  lodged  with  the  President  8c  Tutore  a  discretional,  or  parental  Author- 
ity ;  8c  therefore,  where  no  Statute  is  particularly  8c  expressly  provided 
for  a  case  that  may  occur,  they  are  to  exercise  this  discretionary  author- 
ity according  to  the  known  customs  of  similar  institutions,  8c  the  plain, 
general  rules  of  the  moral  Law.  And,  in  general  the  penalties  are  to  be 
of  the  more  humane  kind,  such  as  are  at  once  expressive  of  compassion 
to  the  offender,  8c  indignation  at  the  offence.  Such  as  are  adapted  to  work 
upon  the  nobler  principles  of  humanity,  8c  to  move  the  more  honourable 
Springs  of  good  Order  and  submission  to  Government  — 

5.  And  in  case  any  pereon  or  pereons  shall  judge  themselves  injured 
by  any  heavy  punishment  inflicted  by  the  President  8c  Tutore,  such  as 
expulsion  dismission  or  Rustication  for  a  year,  they  have  Liberty  to  bring 
a  Petition  to  the  Corporation  for  relief  therin,  setting  forth  the  grounds 
8c  reasons  of  their  petition,  provided  the  pereons  apprehending  themselves 
to  be  injured,  their  Parents  or  Guardians  shall  previously  have  desired, 
a  rehearing  before  the  President  8c  Tutoi-s  — 

Finis  Legum 


II 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE 
SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  LAWS  OF  RHODE-ISLAND  COLLEGE 

\_Enacted  in  1793.  From  a  Printed  Copy  of  that  Year l\ 

1 .  No  member  of  an  under  class  may  go  into  the  chapel,  dining-hall,  or 
other  room,  where  different  classes  may  meet  —  or  come  out  of  them, 
before  any  member  of  any  class  above  him. 

2.  No  member  of  an  under  class  may  go  into  the  chapel  or  dining- 
hall,  without  stopping  at  the  door,  and  looking  round  to  observe  whether 
any  of  the  classes  above  him  are  coming  from  any  part  of  the  College ; 
and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  the  students,  in  passing  gates  or  doors,  to 
stop  and  observe  whether  any  of  their  superiors  are  coming  towards  them, 

C  518  ] 


APPENDIX 

and  to  wait  for  them,  mik'ss  jM-niiilted  to  v;o  forwai-cl  by  a  wavt>  of  the 
hand  from  the  superior;  and  in  walkins^  toi^ether,  the  member  of  an 
under  class  shall  t^ive  the  rit^ht  hand  side  to  the  member  of  an  upjji'r  class. 

3.  Any  student  passing'  l)y  one  of  a  class  above  him,  sliall  take  off  his 
hat  in  a  respectful  and  decent  manner. 

4.  The  seniors  may  call  up,  by  billets  decently  written,  any  of  the 
under  classes,  for  violation  of  any  of  the  foregoini;  laws,  as  far  as  they 
respect  the  attention  to  be  paid  to  seniors.  The  junioi-s  may  do  the  same 
to  any  of  the  classes  below  them  who  violate  or  neglect  the  laws  respecting 
the  attention  to  be  paid  to  junioi-s.  If  any  sophomore  is  neglected  or  in- 
sulted by  a  freshman,  he  may  call  up  the  freshman,  by  obtaining  liberty  of 
a  senior. 

5.  No  billets  shall  be  sent  in  the  hours  of  study;  but  when  they  are 
sent  in  houi-s  of  recreation,  the  students  to  whom  they  are  sent  shall  im- 
mediately repair  to  the  room  specified  in  said  billets;  and  all  students 
billetted  shall  be  treated  politely,  and  shall  treat  those  so  who  billet  them. 

6.  When  any  member  of  an  upper  class  calls  up  oiie  of  an  under  class, 
he  shall  suffer  none  to  be  in  his  room  except  one  of  his  classmates. 

7.  If  any  number  of  students  of  an  under  class,  or  the  whole  class, 
shall  offer  an  insult  to  any  member  or  members  of  an  upper  class,  or 
the  whole  of  an  upper  class,  the  member  or  class  thus  insulted  may  call 
up  all  the  offendei-s,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  make  satisfaction,  by  ac- 
knowledging their  fault,  and  promising  reformation  ;  and  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  all  who  shall  be  called  up  for  the  violation  of  these  laws,  to  make 
satisfaction  in  tlie  same  way.  If  any  student  shall  refuse  to  make  satisfac- 
tion as  the  law  requiiTS,  or  shall  refuse  to  go  to  the  room  of  the  stu- 
dent who  billets  him,  he  shall  be  immediately  cited  before  the  authority, 
and  be  punished  by  admonition,  fine  or  rustication,  as  they  shall  judge 
necessary. 

8 .  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  freshmen  to  carry  the  above  mentioned 
billets,  and  all  othei"s  ordered  by  the  authority  of  College,  to  such  per- 
sons as  they  are  directed  ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  freshmen  to  wait 
on  the  Corporation  when  they  meet,  and  also  to  attend  the  Librarian  on 
the  days  on  w^hich  the  library  shall  be  opened. 

9.  No  student  is  allowed  to  wear  his  hat  within  the  walls  of  the  Col- 
lege; and  all  the  students  are  required  to  takeoff  their  hats  respectfully 
when  passing  by  any  of  the  Fellows,  Trustees,  Officei-s,  and  Stewaixl  of 
the  College.  Every  student  who  shall  neglect  to  comply  with  this  law, 
shall  be  punished  for  every  offence  one  shilling,  or  be  admonished,  if  the 
offence  is  repeated.  .  .  . 

1 1 .  All  the  students  shall  rise  respectfully  from  their  seats,  when  any 
officer  of  College  shall  enter  the  room  where  they  are  convened — except 
when  the  students  have  begun  their  meals  in  the  dining-hall.  The  students 
also  are  required  to  rise,  when  addressed  by  an  officer  of  College ;  and  no 
student  is  peraiitted  to  have  his  hat  on,  when  speaking  to  any  officer  of 
College. 

C   519  ] 


APPENDIX  C 


THE  COLLEGE  SEALS 

In  1765,  at  the  second  annual  meeting,  the  Corporation  voted  that  a 
seal  for  the  college  should  be  procured  immediately  (see  page  35). 
The  records  show  that  this  first  seal,  which  was  of  silver  and  was  made 
in  Boston,  cost  ;^10  13'  sterling;  it  was  a  fine  piece  of  workmanship. 
After  the  Revolution,  a  committee  was  appointed  "to  break  the  old 
Seal  of  the  College"  (see  page  76).  The  last  reference  to  this  seal  is 
in  the  inventor}^  of  things  handed  over  to  the  Cor- 
poration by  Mrs.  Manning  after  the  death  of  the 
President,  in  1791 ;  what  became  of  the  seal  itself 
is  unknown.  The  university  now  possesses,  how- 
ever, a  beautiftil  reproduction  of  the  first  seal, 
made  from  an  impression  of  the  original  in  the 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Societ^%  and  given  to  the 
Corpoi-ation  in  1910  by  the  Rhode  Island  Chapter  of  the  Societ)^  of 
Colonial  Dames.  From  this  copy  was  taken  the  accompanying  im- 
print. 

The  committee  appointed  to  break  the  old  seal  was  also  authorized 
to  "agree  upon  a  new  Seal,"  but  seems  to  have  done  nothing.  On 
September  4,  1783,  a  new  committee  was  appointed  "to  devise,  & 
get  a  new  Seal  engraved  for  the  College  as  soon  as  may  be,"  On  Jan- 
uary' 9,  1784,  President  Manning,  chairman  of  the  committee,  wrote 
to  William  Rogers,  of  Philadelphia:  "Inclosed  you  have  the  Device 
of  the  College  Seal,  which  you  are  requested  to  procure  engraved  in 
the  best  Manner,  &  at  the  lowest  Price,  by  the  famous  Engraver,  who 
executes  for  the  Public  their  curious  Devices.  ...  It  is  to  be  cut  in 
Silver,  &  executed  with  with  aU  convenient  Speed,  that  it  may  be  for- 
warded bv  the  first  good  Conveyance  in  your  Power.  .  .  .  The  Treas- 
urer has  put  a  Note  of  20  Dollars  in  my  Hands, 
which  I  herewith  inclose,  to  pay  for  the  Execution 
&c.  With  his  Promise  to  immediately  remit  the 
Remainder,  should  there  be  a  Deficiency.  But  as 
vou  know  the  Poverty  of  the  College  we  rely  on 
you  to  obtain  it  on  the  best  Tenns;  &  as  it  is  to 
seal  your  great  Commission  [see  page  79  J  we  de- 
pend on  your  having  it  executed  in  the  best  manner."  Rogers  replied, 

C    520    ] 


APPENDIX 

on  April  2,  1784:  "Tlie  Seal,  with  suitable  Directions,  I  have  got 
Josev  Anthony  to  procure,  he  has  an  Intimate  Acquaintance  with  the 
best  Engraver  &  does  the  silver  Work  himself."  The  second  seal  is 
inferior  to  the  first  in  workmanship  and  design,  as  may  be  seen  from 
the  imprint. 

When  the  name  of  the  institution  was  changed  to  Brown  Univer- 
sit}',  in  1804,  no  one  seems  to  have  thought  of 
the  desirability  of  changing  the  seal.  On  Septem- 
ber 3,  1833,  President  Way  land  in  his  report  to 
the  Corporation  called  attention  to  this  strange 
oversight,  and  asked  for  authority  to  have  a  new 
seal  made.  A  committee  was  accordingly  ap- 
pointed; and  at  the  annual  meeting  a  )'ear  later 
it  recommended  the  de\'ice  for  the  present  seal,  which  was  thereupon 
ordered  to  be  engraxed. 


[  ry^^  ] 


APPENDIX  D 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A  LIST  OF  THE  CHIEF  SOURCES  USED  IN  THE  PREPARATION  OF  THIS  BOOK, 

FORMING  A   PARTIAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF 

BROWN   UNIVERSITY' 

GENERAL 

Miscellaneous  Papers,  1763-1804,  (An  invaluable  collection  of  docu- 
ments, including  a  petition  for  a  college  charter,  copies  of  the  Stiles 
charter,  the  original  minutes  of  the  Corporation  meetings,  letters,  etc.) 

Records  of  the  Corporation  of  Brown  Univereity,  1764-1914. 

Corporation  Papere,  1827-1914.  (Reports  of  committees,  etc.) 

Annual  Reports  of  the  Treasurers  of  Brown  Univereity:  manuscript, 
1775-1868;  printed,  1869-1913. 

Annual  Reports  of  the  Presidents  to  the  Corporation  of  Brown  Univer- 
sity :  manuscript,  1831-68;  printed,  1829,  1830,  1869-1913. 

Recoixis  of  the  Faculty  of  Brown  Univei-sity,  1829-1914. 

Records  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Corporation  of  Brown  Univer- 
sity,  1850-65. 

Records  of  the  Advisory  and  Executive  Committee  of  the  Corporation 
of  Bro^vn  Uni verity ,  1868-1914. 

Annual  Catalogues  of  Brown  Univei-sity  :  broadsides,  1 800,  1  805  (April  1 
and  May  l),  1806,  1807,1808  (April  and  October),  1809-20, 1822, 
1823;  pamphlets,    1821-26,   1827-1914. 

Commencement  Theses :  broadsides,  1769-74,  1786,  1788-92,  1794- 
1800,  1802-05,  1808-11  ;  pamphlets,  1812-17  (in  Brown  Univer- 
sity Exercises  and  Theses). 

Commencement  Programs  :  1 789-96  (in  Rippon's  Baptist  Annual  Reg- 
ister, 2  vols.,  London,  1790-97)  ;  original  leaflets,  1794-19  14. 

Valedictory  Addresses,  1774-1806.  Boston  and  Providence. 

Programs  of  Junior  and  Senior  Exhibitions,  1798-1879. 

Class  Day  Programs,  1858-1914. 

The  Brunonian,  1868-1914. 

'  Tl^e  works  are  in  the  archives  or  library  of  Brown  University,  unless  an- 
otlier  place  is  indicated.  The  titles  are  often  abridged. 

[    522    ] 


APPENDIX 

Liber  Brunensis,  1869-1914. 

Manning  and  Brown  Univei-sity ;  or,  Life,  Times  and  Correspondence 
of  James  Manning,  and  die  Early  History  of  Brown  Univei-sily.  By 
R.  A.  Ciiiild.  Boston,  1864.  (Revised  as  Brown  Univei-sity  and  Man- 
ning, etc.  ;  Providence,  1897.) 

History  of  Brown  Univei-sity,  with  Illustrative  Documejits.  By  R.  A. 
Guild.  Providence,  1867. 

Celebi-ation  of  the  Oiie  Hundredth  Annivei-sary  of  the  Founding  of  Browii 
University.  Providence,  1865.  (Contains  a  historical  discouree  by  Pres- 
ident Seal's,  etc.) 

Memories  of  Brown.  Edited  by  R.  P.  Brown,  H.  R.  Palmer,  H.  L.  Koop- 
man,andC.  S.  Brigham.  Providence,  1909. 

Historical  Catalogue  of  Brown  University,  1764-19 1 4.  Providence,  1914. 

Preface  to  the  Catalogue  of  the  Library  of  Brown  Univereity,  with  the 
Laws  of  the  Library.  By  C.  C.  Jewett.  Providence,  1843.  (Contains 
a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  lilirary.  In  Brown  University  Historical 
Documents,  vol.  1.) 

The  Providence  Journal,  1829-1914.  (In  the  cabinet  of  the  Rhode  Island 
Historical  Society.) 

Record  of  Deeds  in  the  City  Hall,  Providence.  (Transfei-s  of  land  to 
Bro\vn  Univei-sity  are  recorded  in  Book  19,  pp.  106,  108;  Book  38, 
p.  198;  Book  45,  p.  153;  Book  73,  p.  346;  Book  71  ^  p.  152;  Book 
78,  p.  18;  Book  154,  p.  320.) 

Rhode  Island.  By  I.  B.  Richman.  Boston  and  New  York,  1905. 

Annals  of  the  Town  of  Providence.  By  W.  R.  Staples.  Providence,  1 843. 

Brown  Univei-sity  Bibliography,  1756-1898.  Issued  by  the  Library. 
Providence,  1898. 


CHAPTER  I.  THE  FOUNDING 

Records  of  the  Philadelphia  Baptist  Association,  175  6. 

Materials  for  a  History  of  the  Baptists  in  Rhode  Island.  By  Morgan 
Edwards.  1  771 .  (The  MS.  is  in  the  cabinet  of  the  Rhode  Island  His- 
torical Society.  It  is  published  in  Rhode  Island  Historical  Collections, 
vol.  6.) 

A  History  of  New- England,  with  particular  Reference  to  the  Denomina- 
tion of  Christians  called  Baptists.  Vol.  1.  By  Isaac  Backus.  Boston, 
1777.  Vol.   2  (Providence,  1784)  and  Vol.    3   (Boston,  1796)   are 

C   523   ] 


APPENDIX 

entitled  A  Church  History  of  New-Entjland.  Second  edition,  with 
Notes,  by  David  Weston.  2  vols.  Newton,  Mass.,  1871. 

MSS.  and  Library  of  Isaac  Backus.  (In  New  England  Baptist  Library, 
Boston.) 

A  Fish  Caught  in  his  OAvn  Net.  By  Isaac  Backus.  Boston,  1768. 

A  General  History  of  the  Baptist  Denominatioii  in  America.  By  David 
Benedict.  2  vols.  Boston,  1813. 

A  History  of  the  Baptist  Churches  in  the  United  States.  By  A.  H.  New- 
man. New  York,  1894. 

Discouree  on  Christian  Union,  1760.  By  Ezra  Stiles.  Brookfield,  Mass., 
1799.  (In  the  cabinet  of  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society.) 

The  Literary  Diary  of  Ezra  Stiles,  1769-9  5.  Edited  by  F.  B.  Dexter. 
3  vols.  New  York,  1901. 

Petitions  for  a  charter  for  a  college  in  Rhode  Island,  1  763-64.  (In  Peti- 
tions to  the  Rhode  Island  General  Assembly,  1762-65.  In  the  Rhode 
Island  Statehouse.) 

Draft  of  a  charter  for  a  college  in  Rhode  Island,  1763.  By  Ezra  Stiles. 

Charter  of  Rhode  Island  College,  1764.  (Original  document  in  Rhode 
Island  Statehouse,  in  Acts  and  Resolves  of  the  Rhode  Island  General 
Assembly,  1 762-65  ;  contemporary  official  copy,  in  Brown  University 
archives.) 

Notes  on  College  Charters.  By  members  of  the  Corporation  of  Brown 
University.  Providence,  1910. 

A  History  of  Harvard  University.  By  Benjamin  Peirce.  Cambridge, 
1833. 

The  History  of  Harvard  University.  By  Josiah  Quincy.  2  vols.  Cam- 
bridge, 1840. 

Statuta  of  Yale  College.  Novo-Portu,  MDCCLIX.  (In  Yale  Univereity 
Library.) 

The  Laws  of  Yale  College,  1745.  (MS.  in  Ezra  Stiles's  hand.  In  Yale 
Univei-sity  Library.) 

The  Annals  or  History  of  Yale-College.  By  Thomas  Clap.  New-Haven, 

1766. 

Sketch  of  the  History  of  Yale  Univereity.  By  F.  B.  Dexter.  New  York, 

1887. 

Charter  of  the  Trustees  of  the  College  of  New  Jereey,  1  748.  (In  Reprint 
of  Educational  Charts.  Princeton,  1900.) 

[   524  ] 


APPENDIX 

Laws  and  Customs  of  New  Jei-scy  Collcti^c,  1  "64.  (Typewritten  ropy  of 
a  MS.  copy  by  an  undergi-aduatc.  In  Princeton  Univereily  Library.) 

An  Account  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  Published  by  oixler  of  the 
Trustees.  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  1764.  (In  Princeton  Univei-sity 
Library.) 

History  of  the  College  of  New  Jei"sey,  1746-1854.  By  John  Maclean. 
2  vols.  Philadelphia,  1877. 

Chain:er  of  King's  College,  1754.  (Contemporary  printed  ropy.  In  the 
archives  of  Columbia  University.) 

The  Additional  Charter,  1755.  (Contemporary  printed  coj)y.  In  the 
archives  of  Columbia  Univei-sity.) 

Laws  and  Oixlei'sof  King's  College,  1755.  (Contemporary  printed  copy. 
In  the  archives  of  Columbia  University.) 

Statutes  of  Columbia  College,  1785.  (Contemporary  printed  copy.  In 
the  archives  of  Columbia  Univei-sity.) 

The  Charter  of  the  Uni verity  of  Pennsylvania.  Philadelphia,  1755. 

Early  History  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  By  G.  B.  Wood,  with 
Supplementary  Chapters  by  F.  D.  Stone.  Philadelphia,  189  6. 

A  History  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  from  its  Foundation  to 
1770.  By  T.  H.  Montgomery.  Philadelphia,  1900. 


CHAPTERS  II  AND  III 
PRESIDENT  MANNING'S  ADMINISTRATION 

Correspondence  of  James  Manning,  1759-91. 

Letters  of  James  Manning,  Morgan  Edwards,  and  othei-s,  to  Samuel 
Jones,  1778-87.  (In  the  library  of  Mr.  George  Hendei-son,  of  Phila- 
delphia.) 

Letter  of  James  Manning  to  Moses  Brown,  March  25,  1  779.  (In  the  cabi- 
net of  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society.) 

James  Manning's  Diary  of  his  Journey  from  Providence  to  Philadelphia 
and  back,  April  29  to  September  26,  1779. 

A  Charge  from  the  President  to  the  Graduates  at  the  Commencement 
at  Providence,  September  2,  1  789.  By  James  Maiming.  Boston,  1  806. 
(Another  copy  in  Brown  University  MiscellaJiies.) 

A  Sermon  Occasioned  by  the  Death  of  the  Rev,  James  Manning.  By 
Peres  Fobes.  Providence,  1791.  (In  Brown  University  Miscellanies.) 

C  525  ] 


APPENDIX 

A  Funeral  Sermon  Occasioned  by  the  Death  of  the  Rev.  James  Man- 
ning. By  Jonathan  Maxcy.  Providence,  1791. 

A  Biographical  Sketch  of  the  Rev.  James  Manning.  By  John  Rowland, 
in  the  Rhode  Island  Literary  Repository,  January,  1815.  (In  Brown 
University  Historical  Documents,  vol.  1.) 

Life  and  Recollections  of  John  Rowland.  By  E.  M.  Stone.  Providence, 

1857. 
Memoir  of  the  Rev.  James  Manning.  By  W.  G.  Goddard.  Boston,  1 839. 

(In  BroAvn  Univereity  Historical  Documents,  vol.  1.) 

Subscription  Book  of  Morgan  Edwards,  1767-68. 

Guild  Papere.  (President  Manning's  salutatory  at  New  Jersey  College, 
the  MS.  of  the  valedictory  and  a  copy  of  the  debate  at  the  first  Com- 
mencement of  Rhode  Island  College,  Solomon  Drowne's  college  note- 
book and  extracts  from  his  diary,  and  other  valuable  documents,  col- 
lected byR.  A.  Guild.) 

Laws  of  Rhode  Island  College.  (MS.  copy  by  Enoch  Pond  in  1774.  In 
Brown  Univereity  Charters  and  Laws.) 

Laws  of  Rhode  Island  College,  1783.  (In  the  Corporation  Records.  A 
copy  in  Manning's  hand  is  in  Brown  University  Charters  and  Laws.) 

Records  of  the  Warren  Firet  Baptist  Church,  1  764-70.  (In  the  archives 
of  the  church.) 

Records  of  the  Providence  First  Baptist  Church,  1774-91.  (In  the  ar- 
chives of  the  church.) 

Records  of  the  Providence  First  Baptist  Charitable  Society,  1774-91. 
(In  the  archives  of  the  society.) 

Correspondence  and  Accounts  of  Nicholas  Brown  and  Company.  (In  the 
John  Carter  Brown  Library.) 

The  Providence  Gazette,  1762-91 .  (In  the  cabinet  of  the  Rhode  Island 
Historical  Society.) 

The  Newport  Mercuiy,  1767-70.  (In  the  Redwood  Library,  Newport, 
the  cabinet  of  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  and  the  John  Car- 
ter Brown  Library.) 

Brown's  Record  in  the  Revolution.  By  C.  S.  Brigham.  The  Brunonian, 
November,   1898. 

Early  Rhode  Island.  By  W.  B.  Weeden.  New  York,  1910. 

Providence  in  Colonial  Times.  By  Gertrude  S.  Kimball.  Boston,  1912. 


APPENDIX 

History  of  Rhode  Island,   1636-1790.  By  S.  (i.  Arnold.  2  vols.  New 
York  and  London,   1859-60. 

Maps  of  Providence  in  1770  and  1798.  By  Henry  R.  Chace.  Providence, 

1914. 


CHAPTER  IV.  PRESIDENT  MAXCY'S  ADMINISTRATION 

A  Poem  on  the  Prospects  of  America.  By  Jonathan  Maxcy.  Providence, 
1789(?).  (In  Brown  Univereity  Miscellanies.  Several  i)aj>;es  of  the 
poem  are  missing.) 

An  Address,  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Jonatlian  Maxcy  to  the  CJraduates  at 
the  Commencement,  September  3, 1794.  Providence,  1794.  (Another 
copy  in  Brown  Univei-sity  Miscellanies.) 

An  Address,  delivered  to  the  Graduates,  September  5,  1798.  By  Jona- 
than Maxcy.  Providence,  1798. 

An  Address,  delivered  to  the  Candidates  for  the  Baccalaureate  in  Rhode- 
Island  College,  at  the  Annivereary  Commencement,  September  2,1801. 
By  Jonathan  Maxcy.  Wrentham,  1801. 

Baccalaureate  Addresses,  by  Jonathan  Maxcy,  in  1798,  1800,  1801, 
1802.  (In  Brown  Univereity  Baccalaureate  Addresses.) 

Orations  and  Sermons,  by  Jonathan  Maxcy,  in  1795-97,  1799-1803, 
1812.  (In  Brown  University  Pamphlet  Publications,  Maxcy  and 
Messer.) 

The  Literary  Remains  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Maxcy,  with  a  Memoii-  of 
his  Life,  by  Romeo  Elton.  New  York,  1844. 

The  Laws  of  Rhode-Island  College.  Providence,  1793.  (In  Brown  Uni- 
versity Charters  and  Laws.) 

Supplement  to  the  Laws  of  Rhode-Island  College.  Providence,  1793. 
(In  Brown  University  Chartere  and  Laws,  and  in  Brown  Univereity 
Miscellanies.) 

Records  of  the  College  Library,  1787-1800. 

Records  of  the  Philandrian  Society,  1799-1810. 

Records  of  the  Philermenian  Society,  1804-66. 

The  Cause  of  Man  ;  an  Oration:  together  with  the  Valedictory  Addresses, 
Pronounced  at  the  Commencement  of  Rhode  Island  College,  Septem- 
ber 7,  1796.  By  Tristam  Burges.  Providence,  1796.  (Another  copy 
in  Brown  University  Miscellanies.) 


C  527   ] 


APPENDIX 

Memoir  of  Tristam  Barges ;  with  Selections  from  his  Speeches  and  Oc- 
casional Writings.  By  Henry  L.  Bowen.  Providence,  1835. 

Addresses  before  the  Federal  Adelphi.  Providence,  1798,  1799,  1800, 
1805,  1831.   (In  Brown  Univereity  Orations,  Federal  Adelphi.) 

Correspondence  of  the  Green  Family,  179  5-1800.  (Printed  in  Memo- 
ries of  Brown,  from  copies  in  the  library  of  Mr.  T.  F.  Green.) 


CHAPTER  V.  PRESIDENT  MESSER'S  ADMINISTRATION 

Letter-Books  of  Asa  Messer,  181 1-36.  6  vols. 

Addressesto  the  Graduating  Class,  by  Asa  Messer,  in  1799, 1803,  1810, 
1811.  (In  The  Literary  Remains  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Maxcy.  All  but 
the  last  are  also  in  Brown  University  Baccalaureate  Addresses.) 

Orations  and  Sermons,  by  Asa  Messer,  in  1803,  1812.  (In  Bro\vn  Uni- 
versity Pamphlet  Publications,  Maxcy  and  Messer.) 

A  True  and  Candid  Statement  of  Facts,  relative  to  the  Late  Affaire  and 
Proceedings  of  the  Government  of  Brown  Univereity.  New  Haven, 
January,  1826.  (In  Brown  Univereity  Historical  Documents,  vol.   1.) 

An  Exposition  of  certain  Newspaper  Publications  i-elative  to  the  Man- 
agement of  the  Affaire  of  BroA\Ti  Univereity.  Providence  (?),  August, 
1826.  (In  Brown  Univereity  Historical  Documents,  vol.  1.) 

BroAvn  University  under  the  Presidency  of  Asa  Messer.  By  an  Alumnus, 

Boston,  1867. 
Asa  Messer.  The  Brunonian,  July,  1871. 
Life  and  Lahore  of  Rev.  Stephen  Gano.   By  H.  M.  King.  Providence, 

1903. 

The  Laws  of  Rhode-Island  College.  Providence,  1803.  (In  Brown  Uni- 
vereity Laws  and  Rules,  1803-1901,  and  in  Brown  Univereity  Char- 
tere  and  Laws.) 

Supplement  to  the  Laws  of  Rhode-Island  College.  Providence,  1803. 
(In  Brown  Univereity  Chartere  and  Laws.) 

The  Laws  of  Brown  Univereity.  Providence,  1823.  (In  Brown  Univer- 
sity Laws  and  Rules,  1803-1901,  and  in  Brown  Univereity  Chartere 
and  Laws.) 

A  Letter  to  the  Corporation  of  Brown  Univereity,  suggesting  certain 
Improvements  in  its  Academical  System.  By  Alumnus  Brunensis. 
Providence  (?),  1815. 


[   528   ] 


APPENDIX 

Catalogue  of  Books  in  the  Libi-iiy  of  Riowii  Univci-silv.  Providciict*, 
1826. 

Records  of  the  UniU'd  Biotlu'i-s  Society,  1810-53. 

Records  of  the  Philendcan  Socirty,  1  s  1  5-48. 

The  Medical  School  formerly  existing  in  Hrown  Univei-sitv.  Bv  C  \\'. 
Pai-sons,  M.D.  Providence,  1  88  1 .  (In  Rhode  Island  Historical  Tracls, 
No.  12.) 

Lettere  and  Journals  of  Samuel  Gridley  Howe.  Edited  by  his  Daughter, 
Laura  E.  Richards.  2  vols.  Boston,  1906-09. 


CHAPTERS  VI  AND  VII 
PRESIDENT  WAYL.\ND'S  ADMINISTRATION 

Letter-Book  of  Fi-ancis  Wayland,  1831-52.  (Copies  bv  the  registrar, 
L.  H.  Elliott.) 

Correspondence  of  Fi-ancis  Wayland  on  university  afiaii-s.  (In  the  C(m-- 
po ration  Papers.) 

Reports  of  Fmncis  Wayland  to  the  Executive  Board.  (In  the  Corpora- 
tion Papei-s.) 

Discourse  on  Education :  delivered  in  Boston,  before  the  American  In- 
stitute of  Instruction,  1830.  By  Francis  Wayland.  (In  Occasional  Dis- 
courses. Boston,  1833.) 

The  Elements  of  Moral  Science.  By  Francis  Wayland.  Boston,  1835. 
The  Elements  of  Political    Economy.  By   Francis    Wayland.    Boston, 
1837. 

The  Limitations  of  Human  Responsibility.  By  Francis  Wayland.  Boston, 

1838. 

Thoughts  on  tlie  Present  Collegiate  System  in  the  United  States.  By 
Francis  Wayland.  Boston,  1842. 

Domestic  Slavery,  Considered  in  a  Correspondence  between  the  Rev. 
Richard  Fuller  and  the  Rev.  Francis  Wayland.  New  York  and  Boston, 

1845. 

University  Sermons.  By  Francis  Wayland.  Boston,  1848. 

Report  to  the  Corporation  of  Brown  Univei-sity  on  Changes  in  the  Sys- 
tem of  Collegiate  Education,  Read  March  28,  1850.  By  Francis 
Wayland.  Providence,  18  50.  (In  Brown  Univei-sity  Pamphlets.) 


C   529   ] 


APPENDIX 

The  Education  Demanded  by  the  People  of  the  United  States.  By  Fran- 
cis Wayland.  Boston,  1855.  (In  the  Metcalf  Collection,  vol.  6.) 

Addresses  and  Sermons  by  Francis  Wayland,  1  823-5  7.  (In  Brown  Uni- 
vereity  Pamphlet  Publications,  Wayland,  vols.   1  and  2.) 

Proceedings  of  the  Corporation  and  of  the  Alumni  of  Bromi  University 
in  reference  to  the  Resignation  of  President  Wayland  and  the  Induc- 
tion of  President  Sears.  Providence,  185  6.  (Another  copy  in  Brown 
Univei-sity  Miscellaneous  Pamphlets.) 

Death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  Wayland.  By  J.  B.  Angell.  The  Providence 
Journal,  October  2,  1865. 

A  Discouree  Commemorative  of  Francis  Wayland.  By  George  I.  Chace. 
Providence,  1866.  (In  Metcalf  Collection,  vol.  157.  Reprinted  in 
George  Ide  Chace,  LL.D.:  a  Memorial.) 

The  Late  President  Wayland.  By  G.  P.  Fisher.  The  New  Englander,  Jan- 
uary, 1866. 

A  Memoir  of  the  Life  and  Lahore  of  Francis  Wayland.  By  his  Sons, 
Francis  Wayland  and  H.  L.  Wayland.  2  vols.  New  York,  1867. 

The  Late  President  Wayland.  By  J.  L.  Diman.  The  Atlantic  Monthly, 
January,  1868. 

How  I  Was  Educated.  By  E.  G.  Robinson.  The  Forum,  December,  1886. 

Francis  Wayland.  By  J.  O.  Murray.  Boston  and  New  York,  1891. 

The  Laws  of  Brown  University.  Providence,  182  7.  (In  Brown  University 
Laws  and  Rules,  1803-1901,  and  in  Brown  Univei-sity  Chartere  and 
Laws.) 

The  Laws  of  Brown  University.  Providence,  1850.  (In  Brown  Univer- 
sity Laws  and  Rules,  1803-1901,  and  in  Brown  Univei-sity  Charter 
and  Laws.) 

Thomas  Jeffereon  and  the  University  of  Virginia.  By  H.  B.  Adams. 
Washington,  1888.  (Published  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion.) 

Annual  Reports  of  the  President  and  Treasurer  of  Harvaixi  College,  1883- 
84.  Cambridge,  1885.  (Contains  a  history  of  the  elective  system  at 
Harvard,  by  President  Eliot.) 

Circular  letter  of  W.  A.  Norton  and  J.  A.  Porter,  in  regai-d  to  the  causes 
of  their  resignation  from  the  Faculty  of  Brown  University.  Providence, 
1852. 

A  Discourse  in  Commemoration  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  the  Hon. 

C   530  ] 


APPENDIX 

Nicholas  Brown.  By  Francis  Wayland.  Boston,  1841.  (In  Bi-own  Uni- 
versity Historical  Documents,  vol.  1 ,  and  m  Brown  Univci-sily  Pam- 
phlet Publications,  Wayland,  vol.  2.) 

The  Late  Nicholas  Brawn.  By  W.  (i.  Cioddard.  Pi*ovidence,  1841.  (In 
Brown  University  Historical  Documents,  vol.  1,  and  in  (Joddaixl's 
Political  and  Miscellaneous  Writings,  vol.   1.) 

Sketch  of  the  Kducational  and  Other  Benellicliotis  of  tlie  Late  Nicholas 
Brown.  By  William  (iammell.  (Reprinted  from  Bariiaixl's  .\meri- 
can  Journal  of  Education,  June,  1857.) 

The  Political  and  Miscellaneous  Writings  of  W.  G.  Goddard.  I-Ldited 
by  F.  W.  Goddard.  2  vols.  Providence,  1870. 

A  Discourse  in  Commemoration  of  the  Life  and  Services  of  W.  (i.  (iod- 
daixi.  By  Francis  Wayland.  Providence,  1846.  (In  Brown  Uiiivei-sity 
Pamphlet  Publications,  Wayland,  vol.  2.) 

The  Diary  of  Williams  Latham,  1823-27.  (Mr.  Latham  was  a  student 
in  Brown  Univei-sity  in  1823-27.) 

Praeterita.  Journal  of  Acts  and  Thoughts,  1854-55.  By  W.  G.  Dearth. 
(Mr.  Dearth  was  a  student  in  Brown  University  in  185  1-55.) 

The  Brunonian.  Providence,  1829-31. 

Prize  Essays  by  Brown  University  Students,  1843-52. 

Records  of  the  Class  of  1841. 

Reading  Room  Recoi-d,  1843. 

Triennial  Catalogue  of  the  Members  of  the  Philermenian  Society.  Provi- 
dence, 1849.  (Contains  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  society.) 

Catalogue  of  the  Library  and  Membei-s  of  the  United  Brothers  Society. 

Providence,  1853. 
Reminiscences  of  a  Journalist.  By  C.T.  Congdon.  Boston,  1880. 


CHAPTER  VIII.   PRESIDENT  SE.\RS'S  ADMINISTRATION 

Reports  of  Barnas  Sears  to  the  Executive  Boai-d.  (In  the  Corporation 

Papers.) 
Barnas  Seai-s.  By  Alvah  Hovey.  New  York,  Boston,  Chicago,   1902. 
Lectures  on  Rhetoric.  By  R.  P.  Dunn.  (In  a  note-book  in  the  library  of 

the  late  W.W.  Bailey.) 
In  Memoriam:  Robinson  Potter  Dunn.  Cambridge,  18  69.  (Contains  a 


[   531    ] 


APPENDIX 

biogmphical  sketch  by  S.  L.  Caldwell,  a  commemomtive  discoui-se  by 
J.  L.  Diman,  and  selections  from  Professor  Dunn's  writings.) 

William  Gammell.  A  Biographical  Sketch,  with  Selections  from  his 
writings.  Edited  by  J.  O,  Murray.  Cambridge,  1890. 

The  Brown  Paper,  1857-68. 

A  Sketch  of  the  History  and  the  Present  Organization  of  Brown  Uni- 
versity. Published  by  the  Executive  Board.  Providence,  1861.  (In 
Brown  University  Pamphlets.) 

Brown  University  in  the  Civil  War.  By  H.  S.  Burrage  and  othere.  Provi- 
dence, 18  68, 


CHAPTER  IX.  PRESIDENT  CASWELL'S  ADMINISTRATION 

Address  before  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Sci- 
ence. By  Alexis  Caswell.  Cambridge,  1859. 

Lectures  on  Astronomy.  Washington,  1858.  (In  appendix  to  the  report 
of  the  director  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  1858.) 

A  Discourse  Commemorative  of  the  Life  and  Services  of  Rev.  Alexis 
Caswell.  By  J.  L.  Lincoln.  Providence,  1877. 

Memorial  of  Alexis  Caswell.  (Contains  a  memoir  by  William  Gam- 
mell, reprinted  from  the  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Register,  July,  1877  ;  a  memorial  by  Joseph  Lovering,  reprinted  from 
the  Proceedings  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences ; 
the  discoui-se  by  J.  L.Lincoln;  a  notice  of  the  funeral  services;  and 
tributes  from  various  sources.) 

A  Discourse  delivered  before  the  Porter  Rhetorical  Society  of  Andover 
Theological  Seminary.  By  G.  I.  Chace.  Boston,  1854. 

George  Ide  Chace:  a  Memorial.  Edited  by  J.  O.  Murray.  Cambridge, 
1886.  (Contains  a  biographical  sketch  by  the  editor,  and  selections 
from  Professor  Chace's  writings.) 

CHAPTER  X.  PRESIDENT  ROBINSON'S  ADMINISTRATION 
Lectures  on  Preaching.  By  E.  G.  Robinson.  New  York,  1883. 
Principles  and  Practice  of  Morality.  By  E.  G.  Robinson.  Boston,  1888. 
Christian  Theology.  By  E.  G.  Robinson.  Rochester,  1894. 
Baccalaureate  Sermons.  By  E.  G.  Robinson.  New  York,  Boston,  Chi- 
cago, 1896. 

C   532   ] 


APPENDIX 

E.  C  Robinson  :  an  Autobioj^niphy.  With  u  Supplement  l)y  II.  L.  Way- 
land,  and  Critical  Estimates.  New  York,  IJoston,  Chieaj^o,  1896. 

Memorial  Address  on  Ezekiel  Ciilman  Robinson.  By  T.  1).  .\nderson. 
Providence,  1894. 

Ezekiel  (iilman  Robinson:  a  Memorial  Addi-ess.  By  W.  II.  P.  lauiice. 
Boston,  1895. 

The  Theistic  Argument  as  Afierted  by  Recent  Theories.  By  J.  L.  1)1- 
man.  Boston,  1882. 

Orations  and  Essays.  By  J.  L.  Diman.  Boston,  1882. 

Professor  J.  Lewis  Diman  :  a  Memorial  Tribute.  By  E.  J.  Young.  Cam- 
bridge, 1881.  (Reprinted  from  the  Proceedings  of  tiie  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society.) 

Memoirs  of  the  Rev.  J.  Lewis  Diman.  By  Caroline  Ilazai-d.  Boston  and 
New  York,  1888. 

A  Commemorative  Discouree  on  the  Life,  Character  and  Services  of  Pro- 
fessor Samuel  Stillman  Greene.  By  Professor  B.  F.  Clarke.  Provi- 
dence, 1883, 

Final  Report  of  the  Library  Building  Committee,  with  the  Exercises 
at  the  Dedication  of  the  Fire  Proof  Library  Building.  Providence, 

1878. 

Sayles  Memorial  Hall:  Opening  Exercises.  Providence,   1882. 


CHAPTER  XI.  PRESIDENT  ANDREWS'S  ADMINISTRATION 

An  Address  in  Memory  of  Timothy  Whiting  Bancroft.  By  Lorenzo  Sears. 
Providence,  1891. 

In  Memoriam :  John  Larkin  Lincoln.  By  W.  E.  Lincoln.  Boston  and 
New  York,  1894.  (Contains  a  memorial  address  by  (J.  P.  Fisher,  a 
biographical  sketch  by  W.  C.  Poland,  and  selections  from  Professor 
Lincoln's  diaries,  lectures,  and  magazine  articles.) 

In  Memoriam:  Eli  Whitney  Blake.  Providence,  1895. 

An  Open  Letter  Addressed  to  the  Corporation  of  Brown  Univei-sity  by 
Members  of  the  Faculty  of  That  Institution.  Providence,  1897. 


C   533   ] 


APPENDIX 

CHAPTER  XII.  PRESIDENT  FAUNCE'S  ADMINISTRATION 

B^o^\^l  a  Uiiivei-sity  College.  By  H.  T.  Fowler.  The  Brown  Alumni 
Monthly,  June,  1908. 

Albert  Harkness.  Liber  Brunensis,  18  89.  (An  authoritative  biogmphi- 
cal  sketch.) 

Memorial  Exercises  in  Honor  of  Professor  Albert  Harkness,  with  Ad- 
dresses by  W.  H.  P.  Faunae,  T.  D.  Seymour,  and  W.  G.  Everett. 
Providence,  1907. 

Exercises  Commemorating  the  Restoration  of  University  Hall,  with  Ad- 
dresses by  W.  H,  P.  Faunce,  Ci.  H.  Utter,  and  William  Macdonald. 
Providence ,   1905. 

Alumnae  Record.  By  E.  S.  Bronson.  Providence,  1910. 

The  Women's  College  in  Brown  University :  its  Origin  and  Develop- 
ment. By  Anne  T.  Weeden.  Providence,  19  12. 

Brun-Mxl,   1909-14. 

The  Brown  Alumni  Monthly,  1900-14. 


C   534  ] 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Adams,  Jasper,  166,  201 . 

Administration  and  policy,  98- 
101,  199-200,  206,  211-17, 
230,258-86,  294-97,  313-14, 
321-25,  361-62,  368,  387-88, 
428-32,  441,  467,  478, 484. 

Administration  Building,  470. 

Advisory  and  Executive  Commit- 
tee, 368. 

Advisory  Council  of  the  Women's 
Colleije,  486. 

Agricultural  and  Scientific  Depart- 
ment, 333-34,  366,  370. 

Agriculture,  286,  287,  288,  289, 
333-34,  366,  370. 

Allen,  Paul,  148,  154. 

Allinson,  Francis  G.,  443;  Mi's. 
F.  G.,  486. 

"Alma  Mater,"  349,  378. 

Alumnae  associations,  486,  488. 

Alumni  associations,  237-39,  371, 
372,  467,  483  ;  see  also  Federal 
Adelphi. 

American  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory, 446. 

American  School  in  Athens,  438, 
441,  443. 

American  School  in  Rome,  443. 

Ames,  Samuel,  203. 

Amherst  College,  259,  368,  376, 
377,  481. 

Anatomy ;  see  Biology. 

Andereon,  Thomas  D.,  474. 

Andover  Theological  Seminary, 
426. 

Andrews  Association,  488. 

Andrews,  E.  Benjamin,  379,  411, 


427-28,  430-32,  461-68,  470; 

resigif ation  of ,  in  1897,461-67. 
Andrews  Field,  459. 
Angell,  James  B.,  240,  288,  327, 

356,  472. 
Anthony,  Heniy  B.,  392. 
Apparatus,    81,    106-8,    145-46, 
1 63, 220-2 1 ,222-23,  335, 370, 

459. 
Appleton,  John H.,  33 1,440,  478. 
Arnold,  Oliver  H.,  470,  474. 
Arnold,  Thomas,  101. 
Athletic  Association,  458,  484. 
Athletics,   245-47,   344-48,   376- 

78,  416-17,  458-59,  483,  484- 

85,  487. 

Oabcock,  Joshua,  34,  501,  503. 

Babcock,  Rufus,  201. 

Bachelor  of  Arts,  41,  273,  279- 

84,    290,    291,    321-22,    324, 

325,  404-6,  430,  479. 
Bachelor  of  Philosophy,  273,  279, 

281,   283-84,   290,   291,   299, 

323-25,  403,  405-6,  430, 479. 
Bachelor  of  Science,  448,  479. 
Backus,  Isaac,  6,   8,  26,  94,  95, 

170. 
Bailey,  William  W.,  398,  440, 

477-78. 
Bajnotti,  Paul,  473. 
Ballou,  Sullivan,  353. 
Bancroft  Fund,  433. 
Bancroft, Timothy  W., 370,400- 1 , 

432-33. 
Baptist  academy  at  Hopewell,N .  J . , 

7,  36. 


C   537   ] 


INDEX 


Baptist  college,  plan  for,  7-9,  15. 
Baptists,  1-10,  13,  15-27,  33,  49, 

50,  92,  94-95,  100,  101,  157, 

494. 
Bartlett,  Elisha,  164-65. 
Bartlett,  John  R.,  375. 
Barus,  Carl,  446,  48  1. 
Baseball,  245,  344-46,  376,  416. 
Baxter,  John,  447. 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  300. 
Bell,  173. 

Benedict,  David,  202. 
Bennet,  Job,  15,  18,  20,  25,  27, 

34,   101,  493,  501,  503. 
Bennett,  Charles  E.,  443. 
Berkeley,  Dean,  12-13. 
Bibliogiuphy,  522-34. 
Bi-metallism,  462-66. 
Biological  Laboratory,  474. 
Biology,  145,  159,  163,223,286, 

369,  370-71,  474. 
Blake,  EU  W.,  370,  434-35. 
Boating,    246,    346-48,    376-78, 

416. 
Boixlen,  Jefferson,  332. 
Botany,  159,  165,  166,  369,  391, 

398,  460. 
Bowen,    Horatio   G.,    170,    212, 

229. 
Bowen,  Jabez,  41,  101,  158. 
Bowen,  John,  220. 
Bowen,  William  C,  159,  161. 
Bridgham,  Samuel  W.,  22  8. 
Bronson,  Walter  C,  444. 
Brown  Alumni  Monthly,  482. 
Brown  and  Ives,  171. 
Brown  Daily  Herald,  458. 
Brown,  John,  52-56,  63,  72,  81, 

84,    101,    107,    156,  501. 


Brown ,  John  Carter,  171,182,203, 
278,  332,  334,  375,  390-91, 
471. 

Brown,  John  Nicholas,  471. 

Brown,  Joseph,  53,  73-74,8  1 ,107, 
108. 

Brown  Magazine,  458. 

Brown,  Moses,  45,  46,  47-49,  53, 
55,   69,   109,  375. 

Brown,  Moses,  Jr.,  88. 

Brown,  Nicholas,  34,  53,  73-74, 
89,  471,  501,  503. 

BrowTi,  Nicholas,  and  Company, 
56. 

Brown,  Nicholas,  Jr.,  8  5, 12  8, 144, 
156-57,  158, 170, 171-73,218, 
220,  222,  223-24,  225-28, 
332,  334,  375,  472. 

Brown  Paper,  348-49. 

Brown  Union,  470,  483. 

Brown  Univei-sity,  155-57. 

Brown  Univei-sity  Medical  Associ- 
ation,  163-64. 

Brown  University  Teachei-s'  Asso- 
ciation, 482. 

Brun  M^l,  487. 

Brunonian,   242-43,   348,    379, 
415,  458. 

Bumpus,  Hermon  C,  446. 

Burges,  Tristam,  133,  137,  139, 
148,  149,  154,  166,  168,213- 
15,  233,  375. 

Burgess,  George,  202,  339. 

Burnham,  John  M.,  475. 

Burning  of  compositions,  244-45. 
Bun-age,    Henry    S.,   329,    356, 

357. 
Butler  Hospital,   227,   304,  328, 


!82. 


[   538   ] 


INDEX 

C_/ADUCELS,   348-49. 

Caesar  Augustus,  Statue  of,  473. 
Caldwell,  Samuel  L.,  413. 
Calendar  of  the  college  year,  119, 
169-70,  249,   285,   299,   372- 

73,  414,  480. 
Cammarian  Club,  484. 
Cap  and  gown,  85,  339. 
Carnegie,  Andrew,  471. 
Carnegie  Institution,  441,  442. 
Carpenter  Premiums  and  Prizes, 

369. 
Carrie  Tower,  473. 
Carter,  John,  52. 
Caswell,  Alexis,   201,  220,  229, 

251,  268,  279,  302,  326,  327, 

340, 367-68,  374, 383-85. 
Caswell  Hall,  470. 
Centennial  celebration,   339-40, 

355. 
Chace,  Arnold  B.,  414,  474. 
Chace,  George  I.,  223,  229,  230, 

268,  279,  288,  294,  326,  328, 

366-67,368,373,378,380-83. 
Chace  Scholai-ships,  382. 
Chambei-s  Dante  Collection,  473. 
Chapel,  1  11,  222,  414. 
Chapin,  Charles  V.,  398,  440. 
Chaplin,  Jeremiah,  154. 
Charleston,  College  of,  3,  201. 
Charter,    1,    14-33,   76,    336-38, 

366,    478,   493-507;    struggle 

over,  14-27. 
Charter  for  rival  college,  50. 
Chemical  Laboratory,   334-35, 

460. 
Chemistry,     159,     160,     223-24, 

286-88,  324,  370  ;  see  also  Ap- 
paratus and  Curriculum. 


Chicago,  Univei-sity  of,  426,  441, 
443,  444,  469. 

Christian  Association,  470,  483, 
487. 

Church  Collection,  473, 

Chuixzh,  (ieorge  E.,  473. 

Civil  Engineer,  Degree  of,  448. 

Civil  Engineering,  286-87,  324, 
332,  370,  399,  447-48,  471, 
479. 

Civil  War,  305,  350-57,  427. 

Clarke,  Benjamin  E.,  331,  399, 
440,  469,  475-76. 

Clarke,  John,  10. 

Class  Day,  86,  180,  234,  237, 
340-44,  352,  353,  354,  372, 
373-74,  378,  416,  487. 

Coddington,  William,  10,  375. 

Colby  (Waterville)  College,  154, 
332,  381,  428, 436. 

Colby,  Gardner,  332. 

Colgate  University,  317. 

College  color,  347. 

Columbia  University  (King's  Col- 
lege), 3,  4,  12,29,30,  31,32, 
102,  104,  434. 

Commencement,  40-43,  60-65, 
67,  77,  85-89, 137-42, 177-79, 
232-37,238-39,  285,299-301, 
303-4,  338-40,  353-54,  355, 
356,  372,  378,  406,  414,  440, 
480,  487. 

Commons,  111,  116-18,  152-53, 
249-50. 

Comstock,  Andrew,  457. 

Condy,     Jeremiah,     35,     501, 
503. 

Congregationalists,  3,  5,  16-27, 
31,  50. 


[  5S9  ] 


INDEX 


Cornell  Univereity,  303,  428, 434, 
442,  443,  445,  446. 

Corporation,  15-17,  2  1,  23,  28, 
33,  34-36,  98-101,  157-58, 
189-91,  228,  284,  300,  335- 
36,  359, 413-14,  461-68,  474; 
mode  of  sitting,  35,  15  8. 

Corthell,  Elmer  G.,  473. 

Corthell  Engineering  Library,  473. 

Cox,  Samuel  S.,  339. 

Crocker,  Nathan  B.,  228,  375. 

Crowell,  Asa  C,  445. 

Crozer  Theological  Seminary,  42  6. 

Curriculum,  102-5,  146,  163, 
165-67,215-17,263,266,279, 
285-87,  291,  325-26,  332, 
369-70,  388,  397-401,  404-6, 
429-30,  456,  480,  486. 

Curtis,  George  William,  299,339, 
340,  349,  355. 

Dartmouth  College,  3,  59,  159, 
368,  376,  469, 

Davis,  Isaac,  203. 

Davis,  Nathaniel  F.,  399,  440, 
441. 

Day,  Henry,  288. 

Dealey,  James  Q.,  445. 

Dean,  Office  of,  481. 

Debating  societies,  239-40,  396, 
483  ;  see  also  Philermenian  So- 
ciety and  United  Brothere. 

DeBlois,  Austen  K.,  408. 

Delabarre,  Edmund  B.,  442. 

Delaney,  Archibald  G.,  413. 

Denison  University,  443,  469. 

Denominational  control  of  Ameri- 
can colleges,  3,  31-33. 

DePauw  University,  444. 


De  Veaux  College,  444. 
DeWolf,  James  A.,  349. 
D'Wolf,    John,    160,    161,    214, 

268. 
Didactics;  see  Education. 
Diman,  John  L.,  330,  357,  408- 

11. 
Discipline,    84,    113-16,    148-50, 

153,  183-86,  189,  196-97,206, 

247-48,  319-21,  350,418-20. 
Doctor  of  Philosophy,  407-8. 
Dorr  Rebellion,  2  52-54. 
Dorrance,  John,  58,  68. 
Douglas,  Francis  W.,  413. 
Douglas,  William,  331,  413. 
Doyle,  Sarah  E.,  45  6-57. 
Dramatics,   244,   348,   379,  483, 

487. 
Drowne,  Solomon,  54-55,  97,102, 

106,    120,    121-22,    127,    159, 

160-61,  376. 
Duncan,  Alexander,  278. 
Dunn  Premium,  359. 
Dunn,   Robinson   P.,    288,    327, 

357-59. 
Durfee,  Job,  203. 
Durfee,  Thomas,  413. 
Dwight,  G.  Lyman,  369. 

XLast  Greenwich,  14,  44,  47. 
Eaton,  Isaac,  7,  501,  503. 
Eddy,  John  M.,  160,  162. 
Eddy,  Samuel,  158,  186,  228. 
Edinburgh,  University  of,  442. 
Education,  286-87, 289, 442, 482. 
Edwaixls,  Morgan,  8,  9,  14,  19, 

38-39,    41,    42,    55,    60,    106, 

108,   114,  501,  503. 
Elam,  Samuel,  146. 


I   540  ] 


INDEX 


Elective  system,  269-72,  280-84, 
290-91,  324, 404-6,  430,  479. 

Ellery,  William,  Jr.,  18,  20,  22, 
23,  27,  48,  50,  494,  501, 
503. 

Elliott, LemuelH., 229, 248,  250, 
331. 

Elton,  Romeo,  201,  229. 

Emery,  Annie  C,  486. 

Endowment ;  see  Funds. 

Engineering  Building,  471. 

English  and  Scientific  Course,  268- 
69. 

English  Composition  and  Public 
Speaking,  104-5,  122-27,  136- 
39,  167,  168-69,  400-1;  see 
also  Oratory  and  Belles-Lettres. 

English  universities,  218,  252, 
260,  265,  274. 

Entrance  requirements ,  101-2, 
166,  215,  217-18,  280-81, 
283-84,  324,  325,  369,401-2, 
403,  448,  479. 

Episcopalians,  3,  17,  22,  24,  31- 
32,  50. 

Everett,  Walter  G.,  442. 

Examinations,  103,  163,  169-70, 
280-82,  285,  291-92,  293, 
373. 

Executive  Board,  284,  296-97, 
336. 

Executive  Committee  of  the  Wo- 
men's College,  486. 

Exemption  from  taxation,  29, 
336-38. 

Exhibitions,  179-80,239,298-99, 
349,  373, 415. 

Expenses  of  students,  53,  59,  1  1  1 , 
118-20,  152,  200,  249,  287, 
368,414-15;  see  a/so  Tuition . 


Eyi-es,  Thomas,  17,  35,  101,494, 
500,  501, 503. 

Facl'LTY,  81,  101,  158-59,  160- 
62,  166, 21  1-12,  229-31,  259, 
284,286-89,  293-94,  321-22, 
326-31,  361-62,  369-70,  398- 
401,408-13,  428-29,  432-47, 
456,  464,  469,  474-78,  479, 
481. 

Faunce,  William  H.  P.,  469. 

Federal  Adelphi,  133,  141,  148, 
213,  241. 

Fellows,  15,  16,  17,  21,  22-24, 
28. 

Fence,  470. 

Field,  George  W.,  446. 

Finances,  38,  59-60,  81,  143, 
159,  175-77,  232,  258-59, 
262,  331-34,  461,  467. 

Fii-st  Baptist  Church,  58,  68,  132, 
155,  186,303,367,  375;  meet- 
ing-house, 63,  140,  233-34, 
238, 299,  306,  339,  372. 

Fii-st  Congregational  Church,  63, 
152, 236. 

Fisk,  Wilbur,  201. 

Fobes,  Peres,  81,  130,  142,  146, 
267. 

Football,  246,  344,  416. 

Foixl,  Isaac  N.,  379. 

Foster,  La  Fayette  S.,  403. 

Foster  Premium,  402. 

Foster,  Theodoix",  54,  60,  65,  97, 
123,  127. 

Foster,  William  E.,  379. 

France,  Appeal  to  King  of,  79-80. 

Francis,  John  B.,  203,  228. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  35,  39,  80. 


[   541    ] 


INDEX 


Fraternities,  Greek-letter,  241-42, 
295,  320,  348,  415,  416,  458, 
483,  487. 

French  soldiers  in  Univei-sity  Hall, 
71,  7-:^. 

Friends;  see  Quakers. 

Funds,  35,  38-39,  59,  66,  77- 
80,  143-44,  176,  220-21,  227, 
232,  278,  331-34,  361,  368, 
370,  397,  460-63,  467,  470, 
485. 

Gammell,  William,  229,  230, 
279,  288,  294,  327-30,  453. 

Gardner,  Henry  B.,  441-42. 

Gates,  470,  471,  473,  485. 

General  Assembly,  14-19,21,24, 
50,  64,  66,  276. 

Geology,  165,  166,  223-24;  see 
also  Curriculum. 

Goddard  Gates,  473. 

Goddard,  Moses  B.  I.,  473. 

Goddard,  Mre.  C.  R.,  278. 

Goddard,William,  413,473,474. 

Goddard,  William  G.,  201,  228, 
229,  253,  254-57. 

Graduate  instruction,  407-8,  42  8, 
480-81. 

Graduates,  Careei-s  and  success  of, 
127-29,  154,  164,  201-3,  408, 
455-56,  487. 

Grand  Army  Fellowship,  475. 

Greek-letter  societies ;  see  Frater- 
nities. 

Greene,  Albert  G.,  202,  391. 

Greene,  Nathanael,  47,  66,  70. 

Greene,  Samuel  S.,  288,  327-2  8, 
395,  398,  408,  411-13. 

Griswold ,  Alexander  V . ,  1  5  8 ,  2 2  8 . 


Grounds,    55,     174-75,    224-25, 

334-35,  375,  394-95,  485. 
Guild,  Frederick  T.,  447. 
Guild,  Reuben  A.,  221,  32  7,  340, 

408,  433-34. 
Gymnasium,  246,  377,  396,  417- 

18,  459. 

Hackett,  Horatio  B.,  229. 

Hammond  Lamont  Library,  472. 

Harkness,  Albert,  327,  330,  408, 
435,  438-40. 

Harkness,  Albert  G.,  442. 

Harris,  C.  Fiske,  392. 

Harris  Collection  of  American  Po- 
etry, 391-92,  472. 

Hartshorn  Premiums,  402. 

Harvard  University,  3,  4,  13,  28, 
29,  30,  31,  32,  42,  58,  104, 
110,  113,  159,  176,  188, 251, 
259,  270-72,  275,  276,  301, 
312,  318,  337, 345,  346, 368, 
372,  376,  377,  387,  404,  408, 

409,  442,  443,  444,  445,  469, 
477. 

Hay,  John,  340,  341,  355,  471- 

72. 
Hazard  Chair  of  Physics  ,370,435. 
Hazard,  Rowland,  370. 
Hazard,  Rowland  G.,  370. 
Heating  station,  459-60, 
Higginson,  Thomas  W.,  339. 
Hill,  John  E.,  445-46. 
Hill,  Nathaniel  P.,  327-28,  335. 
Honorary  degrees,  41,59,66,164. 
Honoi-s,  403,  480. 
Honyman,  James,  34,  501,  503. 
Hope  College,  171-73,  184,  392, 

459. 


[   542   ] 


INDEX 


Hopewell,  N.  J.,  Baptist  acacU'iiiy 

at,  7,  36. 
Hopkins,  Esek,  53,  64,  66,  375. 
Hopkins,  Stephen,  34,  35,  46,  52, 

53,  54,  63,  72,  101,  501,  503. 
Hopkins,  William,  53. 
Howe,  Samuel  G.,  182,  184, 

202-3. 
Howell,  David,  7,  26,  38,  41,  53, 

58,  65,  68,  72,  78,  79,  80,  84, 

89,  93,  95,  101,  130-31,  148, 

158,  189,  337,  369. 
Howell  Scholarship,  369. 
Hoyt,  Colgate,  470. 
Hoyt  Swimming-  Pool,  470. 

Illumination  of  the  college,   88, 

140,  232,  233,  247,  344,  356. 
Ingalls,  William,  159,  161. 
Instruction,  Methods  of,  106,  146, 

163,     167-69,     204,     208-11, 

284-86,     329,     362-64,     409, 

421-23,  481,  489. 
Intellectual  life;  see  Scholarship. 
Iselin,  Mi-s.  C.  Oliver,  473. 
Ives,  Moses  B.,   158,   203,   227, 

228,  278,  334,  336. 
Ives,  Mrs.  Hope,  173,  278. 
Ives,  Robert  H.,  171,  182,  203, 

227,  278, 332,  334, 336. 
Ives,  Robert  H.,  Jr.,  354-55. 
Ives,  Thomas  P.,  171,  173,  220, 

223, 225, 375. 
Ives,  Thomas  P.,  Jr.,  332. 
Ivy  Day,  48  7. 

Jackson,  Henry,  219. 
Jacobs,  Walter  B.,  442. 
Jameson,  John  F.,  441,  449. 


Jefferson,  Thomas,  80,  88,  271. 
Jenckes,  Daniel,    16,    17-19,    21, 

25,26, 34,494, 500, 501, 503. 
Jenks,John  W.  P.,  371,  398,434. 
Jewett,  Charles  C,  221. 
Jewett,  James  R.,  443. 
Jews,  98,  100. 

John  Carter  Bmwn  Library,  471. 
John  Hay  Library,  471-73. 
John  Nicholas  Brown  (iate,  47  1 . 
Johns    Hopkins   Univei-sity,    409, 

4  10. 
Jones,  Samuel,  7,  16,41,83,  1  30, 

501,  503. 
Judson,  Adoniram,  202,  375. 
Junior  Burials,  244,  297-98,  350, 

415. 
Junior  Week,   180,  483. 

IvELLKN,  William  \'.,  472. 
Kent,  Charles  F.,  443. 
King,  Lida  S.,  486. 
Kingsbury,  John,  228,  413. 
King's  College ;  see  Columbia  Uni- 

vei-sity. 
Knight,  Amelia  S.,  458. 
Koopman,  Harry  L.,  446. 

LiADD,  Herbert  W.,  397. 
Ladd  Observatory,  397,  459. 
Lamont,  Hammond,  444,  472. 
Land  grant,  333-34,  369,  447. 
Langdon,  Courtney,  445. 
Latin  school,  36,  37,  5  8;  see  also 

University  Grammar  School. 
Latin  syllogistic  disputes,  41,  60, 

86,   105-6,  138. 
Latin  theses,  41,  105-6,  179. 
Laws,  99,  103,  104-5,  110,  111- 


C    543    ] 


INDEX 


13,   117-18,  120-21,  149,  167, 

182-83,  206,  279-82,  284-86, 

320-21,  414,  508-19. 
Liber  Brunensis,  348,  379. 
Liberty  of  conscience;  see  Religious 

freedom. 
Library,  66,77,  81,  108-1  1,  143, 

144-45, 146-47,   165,   170-71, 

220-22,     328,    389-92,    460, 

471-73. 
Lincoln  Fund,  436. 
Lincoln,  John  L.,  230,  327,  330, 

400,  408,  435-38,  439. 
Littlefield,  George  L.,  470.  . 
Loan  Fund,  369. 
Location  of  the  college,  36,  43-50, 

388-89. 
Lotteries,  37,  59,  143-44. 
Love,  Hoi-ace  T.,  332-34. 
Lyman,  Daniel  W.,  396. 
Lyman  Gymnasium,  396,  459. 
Lyndon,  Josias,  15,16,  18,20,  25, 

27,  34,  494,    500,   501,    503, 

507. 


Madison  University,  442. 

Manatt,  James  L,  443. 

Manly,  John  M.,  444. 

Mann,  Horace,  201,  318. 

Manning  Hall,  222,  334. 

Manning,  Henry  P.,  445. 

Manning,  James,  7,  8,  9,  13,  14- 
17,  20,  21,  22,  25,  26,  27,  36, 
46,  53,  57-58,  62,  65,  66,  68- 
70,  71, 72,  82-84,  89-98,  375, 
501,  503. 

March,  Alden,  164. 

Marcus  Aurelius,  Statue  of,  473. 

Marcy,  William  L.,  203. 

C   544   ] 


Marietta  College,  443. 
Marston,  Edgar  L.,  474. 
Mai-ston  Field  House,  473. 
Mason,  Earl  P.,  332. 
Massachusetts,  1 42 ,  20 1 , 2 89 ,  3 1 8 , 

412,  475. 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technol- 
ogy, 477. 
Master  of  Arts,  273,  279,  281-84, 
290,   291,    299,   321-22,  324, 

407-8,  480. 
Master  of  Science,  481. 
Maxcy  Hall,  460. 
Maxcy,  Jonathan,   82,   85,   124, 

126,   128,   131-36. 
Mead,  Albert  D.,  446. 
Mechanical  Engineer,  Degree  of, 

448,  479. 
Medical  Association,  163-64. 
Medical  School,  159-65,  168,211- 

12,  268. 
Meiklejohn,  Alexander,  481. 
Messer,  Asa,  88,  124,  128,  146, 

155,   169,   186-201,  213. 
Metcalf  Botanical  Garden,  398. 
Metcalf,  Jesse,  45  7. 
Metcalf,  Mi-s.  Whiting,  398. 
Metcalf,  Theron,  203,  228. 
Miller  Hall,  48  5. 
Miller,  Homce  G.,  485  ;  Mrs.  H. 

G.,  485. 
Minnesota,  Univei"sity  of,  443. 
Mock  duel,  350. 
Mock  programs,  297. 
Morton,  Marcus,  203. 
Mount  Holyoke  College,  456. 
Munro,  Wilfred    H.,  444-45, 

448. 
Murray,  Cunliffe  H.,  447. 


INDEX 


Museum  of  Natural  History,  145, 

371,  434. 
Musical  clubs,  244,348,378,483, 

487. 

Naming  the  college,  78,  144,  155- 
57. 

Natural  History;  see  Biology. 

Nebi-aska,  Univei-sity  of,  428, 443, 
468. 

New  Jersey,  College  of;  see  Prince- 
ton Univereity. 

Newport,  5,  9,  10,  11-14,  15,  18, 
21, 24, 25,  34, 35,  36,  37, 44- 
50. 

NewSystem,260-94,301,321-25. 

Newton  Theological  Institution, 
318,  427,  482. 

Norton,  Charles  Eliot,  339. 

Norton,  William  A.,  286,296-97. 

Olney,  Richard,  338,  341,  363. 
Olney,  Stephen  T.,  391,  398. 
Oratory  and  Belles-Lettres,  104-5, 

122-27, 132,136-39,  156,  166, 

168-69,  237-38. 
Organ  recitals,  482. 

Packard,  Alpheus  S.,  398,  440, 

475. 
Packer  Collegiate  Institute,  486. 
Padelford,  Seth,  335. 
Palmer,  Albert  DeF.,  446. 
Pardee,  William  C,  447. 
Park,  Calvin,  159,  165,  189. 
Park,  Edwaixis  A.,  182,  202,299, 

339. 
Pareons,  Charles  W.,  369,  398. 
Parsons,  Usher,  162,  212. 


Partial  Coui-se,  268-69,  323,  324, 

325. 
Patten,  William  S.,  368,  413. 
Peck,  vSolomon,  202,  229. 
Peiixe,  John,  335,  459. 
Pembroke  Hall,  45  7-58. 
Pennsylvania,  Univei-sity  of,  3,  4, 

30,  32,  92,  448. 
Pension  system,  474. 
Perry,  Mamlen  J.,  472,  473. 
Petitions  for  charter,    15-18,   24, 

26,  493-95. 
Phetteplace,  Thureton  M.,  477. 
Phi  Beta  Kappa,  213,  236,  2  39, 

241,  299,  372,  480,  487. 
Philadelphia  Baptist  Association, 

6,7,8,  13,  16,  18,24,94,  340. 
Philandrian  Society,  147-48,  449. 
Philermenian  Society,    147,    173, 

180-81,     233,     236,     239-40, 

349. 
Phillips,  Wendell,  339. 
Physical  training,  417,  459;    see 

a/so  Gymnasium. 
Physics,  223,  370,  389,459;  see 

also  Apparatus  a?id  Curriculum. 
Physiology ;  see  Biology. 
Poland,  William  C,  370,  440, 

441. 
Porter,  Henry  K.,  471. 
Porter,  John  A.,  286,  296-97. 
Portraits,  375-76,  394. 
Prentice,  George  D.,  202. 
Presbyterians,  3,  32  ;  see  also  Con- 

gregationalists. 
Presidency  of  the  college,  17,  22- 

24,   188,  366. 
President's  house,  55,  57,  223-24, 

470. 


C  545  ] 


INDEX 


Princeton  Univci'sity  (College  of 
New  Jei-sey),  3,  4,   8,  28,  29 

30,  32,   36,    38,   55,    59,   101 
104,   112,   113,   120,  409. 

Prizes    and    premiums,    218-20 

237-38,  292,  359,  369, 402-3 

487. 
Providence,  5,  10,  25,  37,  44-54 

63,    69,    95,    255,    289,    304 

412,  433,  482. 
Providence  Athenaeum,  227,  255, 

328. 

Quakers,  10,  22,  24,  32,  50, 
451. 

Randall,   Otis,   E.,  399,  440, 

441,  481. 
Reading-Room  Association,  243, 

379. 
Recitations,  112,207-11,  284-85, 

293. 
Redwood  Libi^ry,  12,  13,  14,  19. 
Reed,  David,  202. 
Reformed  Dutch  Church,  3. 
ReUgious  freedom,  1,8,10-11,29- 

31,  98-101,    187-88,   313-14, 
478. 

Religious  tests,  4,  29,  30-31. 

Revolutionary  War,  63-75. 

Reynolds,  William  H.,  332. 

Rhode  Island,  1,  5,  8,  9-11,  12, 
14,  37,  50, 64, 68-69,  94, 157, 
200,  252-54,  256,  289-90, 
304,  333-34,  369,  382,  482. 

Rhode  Island  Chapter  of  the  Soci- 
ety of  Colonial  Dames,  520. 

Rhode  Island  College,  9,155,157. 

Rhode  Island  Hall,  223-24,  236, 
287,  371,  375,  389,  394. 


Rhode   Island   Historical   Society, 

255,  328,  329,  520. 
Rhode  Island  Hospital,  304,  328, 

j82 ,  o8o . 
Rhode  Island  School  of  Design  ,482. 
Rhode  Island  Society  for  the  Col- 
legiate  Education   of  Women, 

457,  486. 
Rhode  Island  State  Normal  School, 

412. 
Rhode  Island  Women's  Club,  454, 

456. 
Richards,  William,  170. 
Rider  Collection,  472. 
Rider,  Sidney  S.,  472. 
Robbins,  Ashur,  77,  91,  97,  108, 

148,  239. 
Robinson,  Ezekiel  G.,  240,  301, 

338,  366,  386-88,  418-26. 
Robinson,  Oilman  P.,  413. 
Rochester  Theological    Seminary, 

387,  426. 
Rockefeller  Hall,  470. 
Rockefeller,  John  D.,  470. 
Rockefeller,  John  D.,  Jr.,  471. 
Rogere,  William,  36,  40,  41,  79, 

127,  237,  520. 
Rogere,  William  S.,  370. 
Root,  Elihu,  472. 
Rutgere  College,  3. 

Salaries,  38,  58,  71,  143,  159, 
177,  231-32,  259,  265,  284, 
293-94,  331,  361,  369,  415, 
461,  474. 

Sayles,  Fi-ank  A.,  485. 

Sayles  Gymnasium,  485. 

Sayles  Hall,  393-94. 

Sayles,  William  P.,  393-94. 


C   546'   ] 


INDEX 


Scholarship  and  intellectual  life, 
121-26,  146-47,  150,  217-20, 
240-43,  290-93,  321-22,402- 
3,  415,  455,  479-80,  487. 

Scholai-ships,  292,  332-33,  361, 
366,  369,  382,  402,  456-57, 
480,  482,  487. 

Scott,  Adrian,  445,  473. 

Scott  Library,  473. 

Seal  ofthe  college,  35,  76,  520-2  1 . 

Sears,  Barnas,  167,  182,  201,  275, 
301,317-19,326,359-65,376. 

Sears,  Lorenzo,  444. 

Sepiad,  487. 

Seth,  James,  442. 

Sharpe,  Heiu-y  D.,  473. 

Sharpe,  Lucian,  482. 

Sheriff  at  Commencement,  87. 

Sigma  Xi,  480,  487. 

Slater  Hall,  392-93. 

Slater,  Horatio N.,  278,  332,392; 
Mi-s.  H.  N.,  485. 

Slater  Memorial  Homestead,  48  5. 

Slater,  William  S.,  332. 

Smith,  Benjamin  B.,  202. 

Smith,  Gold  win,  339,  355. 

Smith,  Hezekiah,  7,  39,  41,  91, 
94,   155. 

Smith,  Jerome  V.  C,  164. 

Smithsonian  Institution,  384,  446. 

Snow,  Louis  F.,  456,  486. 

Snow's  Meeting-House,  51,  60. 

Societies, Undergraduate,  1 20, 1 47- 
48,  180-82,  233, 239-42,  243- 
44, 29  5, 320,348-49,  458, 483- 
84,  487. 

Special  students,  268-69.      [389. 

Sprague,  William,  332,351,  354, 

Staples,  William  R.,  202. 


Stewai-d,  117,  152-53,  159,  229, 
331,  413. 

Still's,  Ezra,  13-27,  31,  50,  92, 
96,  501,  503;  Stiles  charter,  14- 
27,  495-99.  [503. 

Stillman,  Samuel,  7,  35,  41,  501, 

Slorkbridge,  John  C,  447. 

Student  behavior,  113-16,  149-53, 
184-86,  188-89,294-97,  318- 
21,  349-50,  415,  420. 

Student  Government  Association, 
487. 

Students,  Number  of,  36,  37,  58, 
77,  81,  82,  85,  142,  158,  171, 
176,  232,  258,  283-84,  287, 
288-90,323,  332,  352,  360-6  1 , 
369,  372,  415,  428,  454,  469, 
481,  485,  487.  [289. 

Students,  Source  of,  36,  37,  142, 

Study-houi-s,  111-12,  204, 

Subscriptions,  35,  38-39,  46-49, 
77,  106-7,  146,  156,  170,  220, 
22o-24, 278, 332-33, 335, 361 , 
395,  457,  470-71. 

Sweetland,  Cornelius  S.,  474. 

iANNER,John,   110,494. 
Thomas,  Benjamin  P.,  413. 
Tillinghast,  John,  35,  493,   501, 

503. 
Tobey,  Samuel  B.,  228,  300. 
Trustees,  15,  17,  21,  22-24,  28. 
Tuition,  59,  8  1,1  18-19,163,  175, 

232,  332,  368,  414. 

Undergradl'ate  life,  1  1  1-18,146- 
53,  180-86,  232-35,  239-50, 
294-98,  318-21,  340-50,355- 
56,  373-80,  415-17,  458-59, 
483-85,  487. 


C    547    ] 


INDEX 


Unitarianism,  186-88,  191-92. 
United  Brothers,  173,   181,  233, 

236,  239-40,  349. 
University  Cadets,  352. 
University  Extension, 2 67-68, 288, 

448-49,  482.  [71. 

Univereity  Grammar  School,   58, 
Univei-sityHall,  54-57,67-68,71, 

72-75,  151,  173-74,  222,  254, 

351,  392,  396-97,  473. 
Upham,    Edward,    35,    41,    501, 

503.  [481. 

Upton,  Winslow,  398,  440,  477, 

Vacations,   119,  169,  200,  249, 

285,  373,  414. 
Van  Wickle,  Augustus,  470. 
Van  Wickle  Gates,  470. 
Vassar  College,  414,  426,  436. 
Vermont  University,  410,  434, 

444,  450. 
V^esper  sermons,  482. 
Virginia,  University  of,  271-74, 

387. 
Visitation  of  rooms,    182,  204, 

206,  294-95,  296-97,  320. 
Visiting  committees,  482. 

Wanton,  Joseph,  34,  41,  62,  64, 

494,  501,  503. 
Waixl,  Henry,  48,  494,  507. 
Ward,  Lester  F.,  473,  476. 
Ward  Library,  473. 
Ward,  Samuel,  34,  48,  63,  493, 

501,  503.  [57. 

Warren,  R.  L,  36-37,  40,  44,  47, 
Washington,  George,  88-89. 
Water  Procession,  350. 
Waterhouse,  Benjamin,  81,  267. 


Waterville  College ;  see  Colby  Col- 
lege. 

Wayland,  Francis,  204-11,  213- 
14,  218,  220,  230-31,247-48, 
250-52,  253-54,  258,  278, 
300-16,  338,  339,  352,  354, 
375. 

Weeden,  Anne  T,,  455. 

Well,  174,  350. 

Wellesley  College,  45  6. 

West,  Benjamin,  82,  148. 

Whea ton  Collection,  472. 

Wheaton,  Henry,  154,  375. 

Wheaton,Levi,  127,  160,  161-62, 
212. 

White,  Andrew  D.,  303. 

Whittier,  John  G.,  451. 

William  and  Mary  College,  3. 

Williams,  Alonzo,  370,  399,  440, 
475. 

Williams,  Jared  W.,  203. 

Williams,  Roger,  10,  99,  170. 

Wilson,  George  F.,  396. 

Wilson,  George  G.,  408,  445. 

Wilson  Hall,  396,  435,  459. 

Winter,  William,  339,  349. 

Wisconsin,   University  of,   410, 
486. 

Women's  College,  449-58,  485- 
88. 

Woods,  Alva,  192,  229. 

Woods,  Marshall,  336,  414,  459. 

Woolley,  Mary  E.,  455-56. 

Worcester  Academy,  412. 

1  ALE  University,  3,  4,  13,  14,  28, 

29,  30,  31,  32,  58,  102,  1  12, 
137,  259,  277,  302-3,  346, 
368,  376,  377,  423,  444,  469. 


I 


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